Survival! Carson girls go to 2-0

Carson High's second straight Sierra League win was all about survival.

The Senators withstood a tremendous 32-point, 15-rebound effort by North Valleys' 6-foot-3 center Anita Burdick to grab a 73-63 victory Friday night at Morse Burley Gymnasium.

"I felt that the end of the third quarter we started getting momentum," Carson coach Alana Williams said. "The last three minutes we started to play hard."

Williams was referring to the Senators' run which cut a nine-point deficit to one, 52-51, after three periods. Andrea Hoff (24 points) keyed the surge with two baskets and Kelli Weyrick converted a three-point play. Rosella Nunez (15 points) actually started the surge with a basket.

Some of that was done without the presence of center Nicole Scott, who picked up her fourth foul with 2:48 left in the third period.

"Everybody else needed to pick it up more," Williams said. "I expect her (Nunez) to play like that every game. She was more in control going to the basket tonight."

Carson kept up the pressure at the outset of the fourth quarter, going on a 12-2 run to take a 63-54 lead with 4:24 left. North Valleys turned the ball over three times in that stretch.

Nunez converted a North Valleys mistake into a basket and then Hoff converted a three-point play with 6:27 left. Weyrick scored with 5:48 left and Scott scored on a driving lay-up to make it 60-54. After another North Valleys mistake, Scott converted a three-point play to complete the barrage.

Carson maintained between a nine and 11-point lead the rest of the game, as Burdick had just four fourth-quarter points.

Williams said she made no defensive adjustments on Burdick or Robin Swain, neither of whom were a factor in the final quarter.

"We couldn't (because of fouls)," the Carson coach said. "We had to play her straight up. Those two will kill you."

The duo did make their presence felt in the first half. They combined for 33 of the Panthers' first 40 points.

Burdick had 19 and Swain 14, including three three-pointers. North Valleys led 19-17 at the end of the first quarter, as Burdick scored seven and Swain nine.

Scott tied the game at 19, but North Valleys went on an 11-3 run, and Burdick was right in the thick of things. She hit four free throws and scored on two putbacks to stretch the lead to 29-22. Scott picked up her third foul during that surge and spent the rest of the half on the bench.

The Senators turned to Hoff and Sandra McAlman for help. Trailing 31-24, Hoff scored on a three-point play and then sank two free throws. McAlman hit from the right side and then nailed a free throw to give Carson a 32-31 lead with 1:59 left.

The game was tied at 36, but Burdick and Polly Smith scored on putbacks to give NV a 40-36 advantage after three. North Valleys scored nine of the next 13 points for a 49-40 lead, setting the stage for Carson's turnaround.

Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281.

North Valleys led most of the first half thanks to Burdick's 19 points. It wasn't until the final 3 1/2 minutes of the third that Carson stepped up its game