All the Douglas High School girls' basketball team wants for Christmas is some consistency.
In all five of the team's losses this season, the Tigers have fallen victim to a game-changing run. And, in all five losses, the team has shown flashes of being able to hang with anyone - including defending Alaska 4A state champ Juneau-Douglas last week.
Now it's just a matter of stringing the good stretches together into a complete game.
Tuesday afternoon, it was a lull through the middle quarters that proved costly as Douglas fell 41-29 to Lowry, the 3A's top-ranked school, in Winnemucca.
After managing just two points in the second quarter and getting outscored 15-5 in the third, the Tigers fell back by 18.
Douglas put together a solid fourth quarter, though, scoring 16 points and cutting the score to six at one point.
"We created a lot of good chances in the fourth," Douglas coach Werner Christen said. "We finished well, made out layups and knocked down some shots. It was good to see.
"We just have to find a way to get consistent. We played well for extended periods of time, and there were some other points that just left us scratching our heads."
Christen said the defense in particular had a strong game, specifically when Douglas ran with its full-court press.
"We pressed them and they struggled with it," he said. "We caused quite a few turnovers with it, but we were having a tough time converting.
"We'd get down to our end and turn it over. I think there may have been a couple neck injuries in the crowd from having to look back and forth so often. It was a turnover fest there for a while."
Lowry jumped out to and early lead and held Douglas to just nine first-half shots.
"That's not enough for us," Christen said. "Defensively, we're getting to where we need to be, but we also need to be taking better care of the ball and creating better shots.
"We were hurrying things too much. Lowry knocked down some shots on us early and then we didn't play well at all in the third quarter. That's part of the learning process and its something we're going to have to get past."
Cora Moody led the Tigers with nine points while Bri Burnside added four.
Douglas will travel to the Lady Bulldog Holiday Classic next week in Las Vegas.
"There will be some very good teams there and we are scheduled to see Centennial, which is one of the best teams in the Western United States," Christen said. "We could've scheduled patsies coming into this year, but we truly believe the best way to get better is to play the best competition you can find.
"It'll be a tough tournament, but the kids are in good spirits and they understand where we are and what we are trying to do. It's all about getting better and they are willing to work to get there. We're excited to see what happens."
