Joyce, Senators shoot down Hawks

RENO -- Just say Talia Joyce and the Carson High School girls basketball team had a good hair day.

The Senators also managed to pick up a 70-38 Sierra League victory at Hug on Saturday afternoon in a game they led start to finish as Joyce hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points.

It was a new-look bunch of Senators who all braided their hair in an attempt to come together and rebound from a disappointing 52-39 loss at home to Reno on Friday.

"We all braided our hair for team unity and good luck," Joyce said. "We needed a little change or something, and I think it helped. We came out a little flat in the first half, but overall, we played really well."

It was a complete turnaround from the night before, when the Senators (5-1, 13-7) dropped into a virtually three-way tie for first-place in the Sierra League. After trailing Reno 17-5 at the end of one quarter, they came back and led Hug by the same score at the end of the first period.

"It wasn't pretty, but one of the things we wanted to do was get out fast and not give them (Hug) a chance to hang around," Carson coach Paul Croghan said.

Katie Kotter scored 10 of her 15 points in the opening period and Joyce hit a 3-pointer for the Senators, who made seven shots from beyond the arc as a team. Rosalia Nunez had a 3-pointer in the second period as the Senators took a 32-18 halftime lead.

Any doubt about the outcome was erased when Joyce buried three 3-pointers in the third period to help push Carson's lead to 55-28.

"I don't normally don't shoot as much as I did tonight, but we have a different person score a lot each game and it was my turn, I guess. Ciarra (Christian) just did a good job getting me the ball," Joyce said. "

Tabitha Adams also scored seven points in the third period, including a 3-pointer.

Hug (1-4, 3-13) was led by Lisa Carey with 16 points and Zule Cerritos with 11.

By winning, Carson maintained its hold on first-place in the league, while Reno and Douglas are tied for second at 4-1. Reno defeated South Tahoe 79-45 on Saturday.