RENO - On three different occasions, the Douglas High girls basketball team faced deficits of six or seven points against Bishop Manogue on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers rallied back each time, only to fall short at the end when the Sierra League-leading Miners scored with 2.8 seconds left to pull out a 53-51 victory.
Lauren Luckadoo scored on a putback to break a 51-51 tie as Manogue improved its league record to 6-0 (10-8 overall) and remained tied for first-place in the league race with Galena.
Despite the tough loss, coach Werner Christen was enthusiastic about the performance he saw on the court from the Tigers, who were coming off a 41-28 loss the night before against South Tahoe. The Douglas girls are now 1-5 in league, 6-11 overall.
"We're just trying to get better," Christen said. "This was the best game we've played. We've shown flashes, we just haven't been consistent. This was the most consistent game we've played and the best game we've played. We just got a bad bounce at the end."
Trailing 46-39 with 6:32 left to play, the Tigers mounted one last comeback. Jackie Harper's 3-pointer and Katie Dry's fast break layup cut the gap to two points, then after Nejae Jackson blocked a shot on the defensive end, Harper put down a shot to tie the score 46-46 with 5:04 left. Another Harper 3-pointer, this one assisted by Dry, gave Douglas a 49-48 lead. Brianne Burnside pulled up inside the lane and connected on a jumper to put the Tigers a 51-50 lead with 2:10 left.
The Tigers were in position to take a shot for the win with less than a minute to go, only to lose the ball on a turnover, setting the stage for Manogue's game-winning opportunity. The first shot missed, but Luckadoo was there for the rebound and putback.
Harper wound up with 12 points, while Jackson scored 10 and Burnside eight to lead Douglas offensively. Freshman point guard Gabbi Concepcion led all scorers with 16 points for Manogue, while Katie Gray added 11 and Luckadoo 10.
Douglas was sparked by its switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense in the first quarter.
"We went to the 13 in the middle of the first quarter," Christen said. "That kept the game at our tempo and gave them a different look. And I thought our wings did a great job pressuring them out there."
The Tigers rallied from a 26-20 deficit late in the second period and went up 27-26 when Susie White hit a 3-pointer from the right wing, assisted by Cassi Uhart. Manogue took a 29-28 lead to the locker room at halftime.
