Girls' Basketball: Douglas back in playoff hunt after win over Damonte Ranch

No one said it was going to be pretty, but the Douglas High girls' basketball team clawed its way back onto the map Friday night in Minden.

In the midst of a rebuilding year, the Lady Tigers vaulted themselves into the thick of the Northern 4A Regional playoff race with a 36-34 win over Damonte Ranch.

"We expected a great game, tough game," Douglas coach Werner Christen said. "It was more physical than we thought it would be."

The Tigers used an 8-0 run going into halftime to build a slight 22-19 lead but the two teams went back and forth through most of the rest of the game.

Ne'Jae Jackson, who led all scorers with 18 points for Douglas, tied the game up at 31 with four minutes left with a free throw. That was in the middle of a mini 5-0 run to take a 35-31 lead with 3:27 left.

Damonte's Ciera O'Driscoll hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute, though, to cut the lead to one.

Douglas missed four free throws down the stretch before Tia Lyons sealed the win with a late free throw after she was flagrantly fouled with 1.4 seconds left on the clock.

"The kids did a great job," Christen said. "I thought we played well down the stretch

except for our free throw shooting."

Douglas went 9-for-21 from the line.

"It would make our lives a lot easier if we could make a couple more of those. But, when the clock hit zero, we had two more points than they did, and that's what counts.

"We've won three out of four now and that's something to build on. We have Wooster and Manogue next week. The season is flying by. We'll see. We're in the mix for that fourth playoff spot now."

Lyons had 10 points, Jackie Harper had three, Bri Burnside and Diana Regalado each had two and Katie Dry had one in the win.