Lowry girls overwhelm Fernley

Lowry girls overwhelm Fernley

Dave Price

SPANISH SPRINGS - It didn't matter who played, the Lowry High School girls basketball team simply never seemed to miss a beat Friday night. Twelve players played and every one of them scored to help the Buckaroos defeat Fernley 91-40 in the NIAA 3A State Tournament semifinals at Spanish Springs High School.

Lowry (30-2) scored the game's first seven points and went on to earn a berth in the state 3A girls finals for the third year in a row. The Buckaroos, who won a state title in 2002 and lost in the finals to Bishop Manogue last year, will play Pahrump Valley for the title tonight at 6:40 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center.

The win over Fernley (19-11) was literally a team effort, according to coach Michon Schmidt.

"All 12 scored. That's kind of how it's been all season, it doesn't matter who plays, we're a very, very deep team," said Schmidt, whose Buckaroos lost one of their two games this season to Carson on Dec. 13 in the finals of the Carson Invitational.

It didn't matter where the Buckaroos shot from because they scored in transition and they scored out of their halfcourt offense, both inside and out. They knocked down eight shots from beyond the 3-point arc, six in the first half.

"They played really well tonight," Fernley coach Ralph Dunn said. "But we gave them a lot of shots in the first half. We were lazy on defense at times, and it showed because they had six 3's in the first half."

Lindsay Swensen connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help stake the Buckaroos to a 24-12 lead. Swensen finished the game with 11 points, while Elisa Leader led the team with 15.

One of the bright spots for Fernley was senior guard Walita Querta, who led all scorers with 20 points. Querta, a four-year starter, shot 10-for-12 from the free throw line and also connected on a pair of 3-pointers. Kaylea Dunn, another four-year starter, also contributed six points and Becky Murphy five for the Vaqueros.

The state tournament trip was the first since 2000 for Fernley's girls.

"That's what I told the girls afterward," coach Dunn said. "Only four tickets are given out for this tournament and we got one of them. This is something to be proud of."