DAYTON - The Dayton High girls varsity basketball team lost at home Saturday afternoon to a quicker, more physical Truckee squad, 45-17.
It's the second consecutive game that Dayton has been held to less than 20 points.
Turnovers and spotty defense were the main problems for the Dust Devils, as Truckee used a smothering man-to-man defense throughout the game to create numerous takeaways.
Wolverine guard Megan Shalvis had seven steals in the first half alone.
Despite the lopsided loss, first-year Dayton coach Cliff Serawop saw reason to feel optimism.
"We're a young team trying to learn a new system," he said. "We've improved a lot since the beginning of the season. These girls work hard and I can see improvement every game."
Dayton trailed 9-4 after the first quarter, and Truckee extended its lead to 21-8 at halftime.
The Dust Devils came out strong after the half, scoring eight points in the third quarter behind the efforts of Devlynn Lehair and Andrea Ramirez coming off the bench.
Ramirez led Dayton scoring with five points, while Lehair and Erin Edison each had four.
Edison made her presence felt on the defensive end as well, blocking five shots.
Destinee Serawop and Taylor Hill also scored for Dayton.
Truckee's Aly Smith led all scorers with 16 points.
