SPRING CREEK, Nev. – The Spring Creek girls basketball team got a taste of its own medicine Saturday against Truckee.

In a game that was physical throughout and got chippy towards the end, the Lady Spartans used a 16-0 start to slug their way past a hard-nosed Wolverines squad, 51-24.

The Spartans, like so many other games, looked like they were going to run away from their opponent early.

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It took Truckee nearly 7 minutes to score its first points and Spring Creek led 18-4 after the first quarter.

From there, though, Truckee began to find success playing Spring Creek’s own game, back at them.

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Known for playing aggressive defense and racing down the floor for transition offense, the Spring Creek girls have dominated the Division I-A basketball landscape in the last seven years.

Truckee offered them a look in the mirror.

The Wolverines got physical with the Spartans on defense and found much of their success scoring on fast breaks.

For the game, Spring Creek committed four more turnovers than Truckee, and the Wolverines capitalized to score 14 of their 24 points on the fast break.

“After we played Elko (Friday) and then (Spring Creek Saturday), we are learning to match physicality with physicality. But, (we’re teaching) that there is a difference between being physical and getting mad,” said Truckee coach Geoff Stephens, whose team lost 65-32 at nearby Elko on Friday.

After outscoring Truckee 37-12 in the first half, the Spartans only scored two more points than the Wolverines in the second, 14-12.

“Our play let up a little bit and it’s hard not to when you get up to a comfortable lead. But, we survived. Even if it wasn’t a great second half we’re still 4-0 (against the Division I-A) and we’re in a good position,” Spring Creek coach Holly Miller said.

The 27-point win Saturday was Spring Creek’s closest league game of the season so far and the only one that was decided by less than 30 points.

For the second straight game, and her second game as a starter, Serima Thompson paced Spring Creek’s perimeter game. The junior guard made two 3-pointers and scored a game-high 13 points.

Sydnie English led Truckee with 12 points, while Katey Hamill contributed six points.

Truckee played both games without senior guard Olivia Duner, who got hurt 90 seconds into the game against Elko when she took a knee to the quad, suffering a deep bruise or possible pinched nerve, Stephens said. She is one of Truckee’s leading scorers and with her defensive ability allows Truckee to play man-to-man defense. In addition, junior guard Kaylee Neill went down in the second quarter of the Spring Creek game with a knee injury and sat out the rest.

Senior forward Jackie Bolton led the Wolverines with eight points against Elko. English and Cassandra Sawyer scored six points apiece.

While the Wolverines (7-6 overall) finished the weekend 0-2, they are 3-3 in Division I-A league games and have a win against Lowry this season. Spring Creek is 8-3 overall and Elko is 7-6.

UP NEXT: Truckee is scheduled to host North Valley on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

– Sierra Sun Sports Editor Sylas Wright contributed to this report.