MINDEN - The Douglas girls' basketball team came up on the short end of more than a couple narrow losses last season.
The Lady Tigers made a statement Tuesday night, though, that this year isn't going to be the same story.
Douglas held off a late 10-point comeback from North Valleys as Ebony Cleveland sank a baseline jumper with 7.6 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a 37-36 win in their season opener.
"North Valleys came back on us late there, but we're looking in the kids' eyes down the stretch and there was just no panic there," Douglas coach Werner Christen said, "They felt like they could get it done, and they did.
"We could've made it easier on ourselves, making our layups, sinking our free throws. They didn't drop today. That's OK. We'll take the win and we'll go from there."
The Tigers showed marked improvement over last season in their ball movement, shot selection and ability to run the floor.
That was on display to open the second half as Douglas opened up a 13-2 run on a long string of fast breaks with strong finishes to go up 31-19, which would be its largest lead of the game.
Following Douglas' run, North Valleys hit a pair of 3-pointers to cut the lead back down to 31-25.
Desiree Cage hit a pair of baskets sandwiched around the break between the third and fourth quarters to put Douglas up 35-26, but North Valleys went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to re-take the lead at 36-35 with 2:52 left.
The Panthers nearly made that lead stick through the remainder, but a missed free throw with 17.6 seconds left gave Douglas the ball back with a chance to win.
Douglas worked the ball around the perimeter, finding Cleveland, who finished with a team-leading 10 points and had a tremendous night rebounding the ball, under the basket.
She calmly dropped the go-ahead basket in and the Tigers were able to run out the clock from there.
Sierra Lutheran cruises
Tiffany Patrick scored 26 points to lead Sierra Lutheran to an easy 56-23 win over Excel Christian.
Karina Young and Natalie Echeverria added nine and seven points, respectively, for the locals.
VARSITY BOYS
Douglas rolls past North Valleys
MINDEN - There were some first-game bumps here and there, but from the time the Tigers opened up a 15-0 lead on North Valleys Tuesday night, very little went wrong in a 71-56 win.
Junior Hunter Myers poured in 19 points, including a 3-pointer and a monster breakaway dunk, and 12 different Tigers put points on the board as Douglas cruised to a win.
"We moved the ball pretty well, we got the ball inside and we had good interior passing," Douglas coach Corey Thacker said. "We have a lot to work on. We had 23 turnovers and we gave up 56 points on defense. That's unacceptable.
"That's a big time goal for us, holding teams under 50 points. We gave up 11 3-pointers tonight. There's definitely a lot to work on and we have two busy weeks ahead of us."
Douglas opened the game on a tear, running up a 22-7 lead in the first quarter and 12 different players got on the floor.
Myers hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and added a jumper to stretch the lead to 27-7.
Douglas' other big men, 6-10 sophomore James Herrick (six points) and senior Trevor Shaffer (eight points) had solid nights scoring and on the glass as well.
JV BOYS BASKETBALL
Carson edges Reed
Not one player scored in double figures, but Carson still managed a 41-33 win over Reed on Tuesday.
Robby Miller led the offense with eight points, while Alan Cohen added seven and Kyle Denning six.
Carson put the game out of reach with a 20-4 surge in the second quarter.
JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Carson pounds Reed
Gina Peacock scored 18 points and Natalie Salas added 15 to lead the Senators to an easy 52-21 win.
Skye Simpson chipped in five point for the winners.
FRESHMAN BOYS BASKETBALL
Reed rolls past Senators
SPARKS - Reed knocked off Carson 60-49 despite 14 points from Cameron Price.
Erick Jacquez added five points, while Julian Alvarado and Brandon Maffei added three apiece.
FRESHMAN GIRLS
Carson pounds Reed
SPARKS - Carson had three players reach double figures in a 58-22 victory over Reed.
Destanee Cachucha led the way with 16, while Michelle Perry added 15 and Maddi Preston 14.
Erica Gallegos, Abbey Dudley, Amanda Breen and Teresa Boehmer played good defense and rebounded well.
