Carson girls coach Todd Ackerman hates to lose. What he hates even more is when his team doesn't put forth the effort he expects or doesn't come to play.
The Senators, who fell behind by 20 in the first quarter against McQueen last Friday, were able to push the Lancers until the final buzzer with some spirited play.
It was a different story Friday night against visiting Galena.
Carson trailed by 21 at the half and by 32 late in the third quarter and fell below .500 in Sierra League play with a 53-30 loss at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
Carson dropped to 4-5 and Galena improved to 7-2.
"Our effort as a team wasn't very good at all," Ackerman said. "Except for a couple of players, we didn't come to play. I'm disappointed because we are capable of playing much better than we did tonight."
Carson had no answer for either Taylor Schaller (19 points) and Emily Burns (18 points), who combined to outscore the entire Carson squad.
Burns scored seven of her 18 in the first quarter and then added 11 in the second period. Schaller scored 12 of her 19 in the first two quarters to spark the Grizzlies to a 36-15 advantage.
"She (Burns) did a nice job," Ackerman said of Burns. "She hit some 3-pointers (two) and I think she only had five the whole year before tonight."
Burns also was a force defensively with four blocked shots, all in the first half, as Carson players were taking the ball too deep into the key area. Burns' first-half effort was a far cry from last week when she went scoreless in the first half, but scored 18 in the second half to spark the Grizzlies to a come-from-behind win over Douglas.
"Emily played a full game tonight," Galena coach Karen Friel said. "If she shows up (ready to play) we have a pretty good chance of winning."
Ackerman said the plan against Schaller was to defend her hard off the ball; deny her the ball. He said Schaller wasn't supposed to get an open look.
Friel felt the key for Schaller's output was the Grizzlies' transition game which made it hard for Carson defenders to get out on her.
Galena opened the second half with a 15-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 51-19, with a little over three minutes left in the third. Schaller had seven in the surge.
Burns didn't play the entire fourth quarter, but it didn't make a difference, as Friel had the Grizzlies slow the game down. Carson held a 7-2 edge in the final quarter, but the damage had already been done.
Whitney Nash and Eliza Matley led Carson with six points apiece. Nobody else had more than three points.
