RENO - Carson High suffered through two big second-half scoring droughts, and paid the price for them.
Carson didn't score in the final 6 minutes 16 seconds of the third quarter and the last 4:54 of the game en route to 42-27 loss to Galena Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Carson finishes 8-8, good for third place in the Sierra League. Carson will visit the Reno Huskies, the second-place team in the High Desert League, Wednesday night. The tip-off time was unknown at press time.
"The third quarter really killed us," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "That was the ballgame.
"We played very well on defense, especially the second half. Even though they got some easy baskets, we caused them some problems."
Carson did hold Galena's Emily Burns to 11 points, 10 of those coming in the first quarter when she accounted for all of the Grizzlies' scoring. It was clear that she was having an off night, though, because she missed some wide-open close-in shots.
Galena led 16-8 with 3:08 remaining in the half, but the Senators scored the last eight points of the half, tying the game at 16. Natalie Stevens, Elayna Shine, Jazmyn Stokes and Tiana McAllister-Daggs scored two points apiece in that stretch.
Amanda Sebert's three-point play gave Galena a 19-16 lead seconds into the second half, but a free throw by Stokes and a bucket by Nash tied the game at 19 with 6:16 left.
Those would be the last points Carson would score in the third, as Galena went on a 11-0 quarter-ending run. Sebert, who had eight in the quarter, scored five in that stretch.
Carson was never able to get the deficit under 10 points the rest of the way. An 8-3 Carson run made it 37-27 with 4:54 left in the game. Eliza Matley, who led Carson with eight points, had six straight Carson points in that run.
In the first quarter, Carson lost Burns twice on the perimeter, and the Nevada-bound senior drained two 3-pointers to spark Galena to a 10-3 lead. She wouldn't score again until the fourth quarter.
Part of the credit goes to Matley, who did a good job of playing Burns hard away from the basket the last three quarters. Matley made the start in place of Lisa Yamamoto strictly for that reason.
