After being decimated by the Reno Huskies by nearly 40 points just three weeks prior, the Douglas Lady Tigers discovered they could stay on the same floor with the No. 2-ranked team in the region and then some.
The Tigers carried a 15-9 lead through the first quarter Tuesday night and had a tie score at halftime before Reno was able to pull out a 54-46 win at Douglas.
"We told them after the last game, we guaranteed them we'd have a chance to beat them," Douglas coach Werner Christen said. "Reno's coach came up to me after the game and said he feels sorry for whoever we end up with in the first round."
The Tigers opened the game on fire, building a 10-9 lead on baskets inside from Dana Pardee and Jessica Waggoner before Douglas rattled off a 5-0 run to close out the quarter .
"It was a good first quarter for us," Christen said. "Then Reno went on one of their typical runs, which was tough for us to stop. They knew they were in a battle though.
"There's just a mutual respect there, they just made a couple more plays than we did. They did a good job of crashing the boards."
Reno put up a basket to open the second, but Waggoner made a layup and drew the foul, which she converted, and Pardee added another basket to put the Tigers up 20-11.
Reno called an immediate timeout, and cobbled together a 7-0 run to close within two and then finished off the half with a 5-3 effort to tie up the score.
The Huskies made several adjustments at halftime and came out with a 12-2 run that essentially put the game away, although Douglas hung with them until late, narrowing the lead to five at one point.
"We flew around and had a lot of deflections," Christen said. "This team doesn't get intimidated. We have a lot of respect for everyone we play, but we aren't afraid of anyone."
Waggoner finished with a game-high 17 points while Pardee and Sarah Hartley each had eight.
Bridget Maestretti, Kaela Horse and Dany Heidt each scored for for Douglas (12-16, 6-6).
Reno had three different players score nine points in the win.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
