TRUCKEE, Calif. and#8212; The Truckee girls began the Truckee Invitational Tip-off Tournament with a 71-13 rout against Sierra Lutheran on Thursday.

The Wolverines will now face Loyalton, which defeated North Tahoe 38-26 to start the tournament, in the semifinal round Friday at 4:30 p.m. North Tahoe will face Sierra Lutheran in the loser’s bracket on Friday at 3 p.m.

In other first-round games, Lutheran defeated KIPP King 42-41, and Miramonte defeated a shorthanded Incline squad 78-25.

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That sets up a semifinal between Lutheran and Miramonte on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that matchup plays the winner between Truckee and Loyalton for the tournament championship on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Sierra Lutheran opened the game with a bucket to take a quick 2-0 lead. But the Falcons scored only 11 more points the rest of the contest as the Wolverines overwhelmed the visitors with a full-court press that led to numerous layups off steals.

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and#8220;I thought we definitely improved over our first game last week,and#8221; said Truckee coach Scott Conn, whose Wolverines improved to 2-0 on the year. and#8220;There were a lot more technical things done correctly.and#8221;

Truckee senior point guard Megan Shalvis led all scorers with 14 points. Junior Aleigh Krug scored 12 points, Krysta Murphy and Shannan Baumann contributed 10 points apiece, and Natalie Duner and Aly Coronado-Smith each scored six. Tiffany Patrick led the Falcons with six points on two 3-pointers.

The Wolverines allowed fewer points each quarter, giving up six points in the first quarter, five in the second, two in the third and not a single point in the fourth. Truckee’s starters and reserves dominated equally, completely controlling the game with smothering defense that led to high-percentage shots.

and#8220;Our full-court press took a leap forward,and#8221; Conn said. and#8220;Our defense, to hold them to that low of a score, not matter what team it is and#8230; I was very pleased.and#8221;

The Lakers struggled to find their rythym early and never recovered as Loyalton grinded out the low-scoring victory.

The Grizzlies led 9-0 after the first quarter and 15-0 midway through the second before senior guard Heidi Jimenez knocked down an outside shot to put the Lakers on the board. Sophomore point guard Liz Buhler followed with another bucket from outside, and senior Iren Rojas added another two points when she created a steal and converted a layup, cutting the lead to 15-6.

After trailing 21-15 at the half, North Tahoe played its opponent evenly down the stretch, at one point pulling to within 25-20 in the third quarter, but the early deficit proved too difficult to overcome.

and#8220;You don’t score zero points in the first quarter and win a basketball game,and#8221; said first-year Lakers head coach Rick Buhler. and#8220;The second quarter is how we play basketball. But 25 turnovers, with 10 under the hoop, that’s a tough way to win.and#8221;

Rojas scored a team-high seven points in the loss, while Buhler, Samantha Jeffers and Beverly Olivares each scored five points.

Meanwhile at the Dayton Sutro Classic, the Truckee boys recovered from a sloppy start to defeat Silver Stage 54-45 on Thursday.

Truckee head coach Angelo Tenorio said the first half was a and#8220;comedy of errorsand#8221; as the Wolverines struggled to get going in their season opener. After falling behind 23-20 at the half, Truckee and#8220;started figuring it outand#8221; in the second half as they took over for the win, Tenorio said.

Senior James DePew led Truckee with 19 points, while Tony Rodriguez scored seven and Ben Bolton, Trent McMullen and Clayton O’Connell each scored six.

Tenorio said senior Morgan Nevin and#8220;was a monsterand#8221; on the boards, and Mitch Nelson helped by creating key steals down the stretch.

The Wolverines will now face Dayton on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

North Tahoe’s boys lost 72-54 against Incline on Thursday to open the Quincy Tournament.