The Truckee High girls basketball team, shorthanded and inflicted by sickness, overcame a late run by April Shaw and the visiting Fernley Vaqueros to hold on for a 51-47 win on Saturday.

“The girls had to dig down deep, but for the most part they played well and played hard,” said Truckee head coach Angelo Tenorio, whose team improved to 6-2 in Northern 3A play and 12-5 overall.

Due to illness, Melanie Lashbrook, Kelsey Shalvis, Meghan Kotko and Alysha Walker did not suit up, and Breanne Busby and Lindsay Holt played despite not feeling well, Tenorio said.

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“We had to work on trying to keep everyone fresh,” the coach said, adding that he constantly substituted players in and out of the game while rotating the girls between different positions. “We had to maneuver kids around, and everyone stepped up.”

The Vaqueros (3-4, 8-7), who trailed 27-13 at the half and 40-20 by the end of the third quarter, came to life early in the fourth after Truckee had built its lead to a game-high 26 points. Following a Lindsay Holt bucket that put the Wolverines in front 48-22, Tenorio called off the Wolverines’ full-court press.

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The move made out of mercy nearly backfired as Shaw, a 5-foot-5 senior point guard, drained a 3-point basket, completed a three-point play at the free throw line and then knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers.

Suddenly, Truckee’s lead was down to seven, at 48-41, with two minutes remaining.

Nikki Panziera put a halt to the Vaqueros’ 19-0 run with an easy layup coming off a designed out-of-bounds play.

Shaw was not done, though.

The senior then connected on yet another 3-pointer before sinking a pair of free throws ” giving her 17 points in less than three minutes ” with 1:16 on the clock. The score: 50-46.

Fernley managed to put another point on the board, narrowing the lead to three points with a minute left to play.

Truckee point guard Kelly Stephens then stole the ball and drew a foul. Her one free throw was the final point of the game, and the Wolverines escaped with a 51-47 win.

Breanne Busby led Truckee with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Panziera finished with eight points and eight rebounds and Lindsay Holt added 10 points and four rebounds.

Shaw had a game-high 21 points on four 3-pointers.

The Wolverines host Northern 3A league leader Spring Creek on Friday at 6 p.m. before squaring off against second-place Lowry the following day at 2 p.m. in the Truckee High gym.