In the final non-league test before the Sierra League race truly begins, the Douglas girls' basketball team saw a bit of everything it wanted to see heading in.
The only place it didn't show was on the scoreboard.
Douglas suffered a 49-45 loss to Woodcreek, Calif., Saturday at Carson Valley Middle School after the well went completely dry late in the game for the Tigers as they were outscored 11-2 in the final quarter.
"We just got too careful with the ball," Douglas coach Werner Christen said. "We weren't pushing it up the floor and attacking the basket."
That being said, the fourth-quarter offense was the lone blemish on an otherwise stellar afternoon for the Lady Tigers.
What was particularly impressive was the 1-3-1 zone defense the Tigers put forth.
They used that set to shut the Timberwolves out for a six-minute stretch in the first quarter, a nearly five-minute stretch in the second and a four-minute stretch heading into the fourth.
"We made a couple of adjustments to the zone set," Christen said. "We pushed out post players out on the wings of the zone and put some quicker players along the baseline.
"It worked out well. That was the best we have run that defense this season."
Douglas jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first and quickly extended that to 16-4 with a 9-0 run through the first three minutes of the second.
With three minutes remaining in the first half, Woodcreek set up a full-court press defense that produced a 10-0 run to get back into the game at 23-18.
The Timberwolves opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute to close within one at 27-26 but Douglas got a pair of baskets from Jessica
Waggoner and a 3-pointer from Taryn Williams to go up 34-26.
Douglas led 43-38 heading in to the fourth but went six minutes without any points while Woodcreek closed the gap to 43-42.
Waggoner scored with just over three minutes remaining, but Douglas would score again as Woodcreek pulled ahead with the last seven points of the game.
Waggoner led all scorers with 17 points in the game while Ne'Jae Jackson had nine and Williams had six. Jackie Harper and Bri Burnside each scored four and Dany Heidt added two in the loss.
Douglas (9-8 overall, 0-2 Sierra League) takes on Damonte Ranch at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday night and travels to Wooster Friday at the same time.
Douglas went 2-2 at the State Farm Holiday Classic, opening the tournament with a loss to Reno and wrapping it up with a loss to Carson.
Douglas beat Spanish Springs by one in the tournament and came back late against McQueen to take a win.
The Tigers converted 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to top McQueen.
Carly McCullough was named to the all-tournament team after posting 21 rebounds, 28 points and eight steals.
Alex Laing had 30 points and 11 steals, CJ Baumgartner had 22 points and eight rebounds, Brianna Rutherdale finished with 19 points and Naomi Roberts had 12 points.
The Douglas freshman girls' basketball team wrapped up their preseason schedule with a 49-19 win over Spanish Springs.
The Tigers displayed that they are ready for the return to league play with a dominating performance from the begining.
Holly Downer led the Tigers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Erica Macias had 12 points and nine rebounds. Jillian Olivera added six, Savannah Wood had four, Kelsey Walsh and Tia Lyons each had three and Cora Moody finished off the scoring with one point.
The Tigers are now 12-1 overall and 2-0 in league.
