The much-anticipated girls basketball showdown between Carson and Reno never materialized.
The Senators, who played without star forward Andrea Hoff, turned the ball over 29 times and shot an icy 34 percent en route to an 81-38 thrashing at the hands of the Huskies Friday at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
Carson dropped to 3-1 in Sierra league play, while Reno improved to 4-0. The Senators won't have much time to lick their wounds because they visit Douglas today at 3:15.
"They're a great team," Carson coach Alana Williams said after the lopsided loss. "Not having Andrea was tough. They (Reno) played great defense and shot lights out."
Indeed. The Huskies hit 12 three-pointers, five of those coming in the second quarter, when they hit 10 of 20 from the floor to turn a three-point lead after one quarter to a 23-point halftime lead.
Reno's pressure defense helped force Carson into 11 second-quarter turnovers, including errors on six straight possessions, which led to a 17-4 surge in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second period.
"We played so many strong teams (in preseason) that had good guards, we had to play back (and not pressure)," Reno coach Craig Campbell. "We were trying to get back to forcing the issue and make them make plays.
"I think our press wore them down. We'd run our first team, bring in the second unit and then go back to the first unit."
Angela Ceccarelli (20 points) hit two of her game-high six treys in that second-period stretch. Hannah Carlson scored on a driving lay-up to make it 28-14 with 2:15 left in the half, but that would be the Senators' last score of the half.
Reno reeled off nine straight points, as Kaylan King (16 points) opened the surge with a deuce. Carson turned the ball over its next three possessions, as Daryan Glenn and Raimy Novacek sliced in for lay-ups and Ceccarelli added another three-pointer to make it 37-14 at the half.
The Senators, who hit 6 for 9 from the floor in the third quarter, traded baskets with Reno for the first 3 minutes 46 seconds of the second half. Sandra McAlman had two buckets in that stretch and Briana Dodge also scored twice.
However, that's not enough when you are trying to cut down a big deficit. Reno ended the quarter with a 9-2 run, as Glenn and Ceccarelli hit three-pointers to make it 56-29.
JUNIOR VARSITY
RENO 48, CARSON 39
The Huskies sent the Senators down to their first Sierra League loss of the season.
Megan Kilty led Carson with nine points, and Sarah Evans and Abby Rankl added eight apiece. Brittany DeRosa was next with six points.
FROSH
RENO 42, CARSON 37
Alyssa Owens scored eight points, Amanda Dines seven and Kayla Sanchez six for the Senators, who dropped to 1-2 in league (6-6 overall).
Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281
