Truckee girls use size edge to dominate Dayton

TRUCKEE, Calif. - The Truckee girls' basketball team used its size to its advantage as it built a comfortable early and cruised to a 67-37 win against visiting Dayton on Saturday.

Led by three post players who scored 14 or more points, the Wolverines controlled the interior from the onset while employing an increasingly effective full-court press en route to the big 3A crossover win.

"A lot of it was their size; that was a big issue," said Dayton coach Cliff Serawop. "They are pretty tall and tough down low. But a lot of it was us rushing and getting ahead of our game.

"Especially when they were pressing, it was when we rushed it that we had turnovers."

Dayton led only after scoring the first basket of the game. It was all Truckee from there as the Wolverines jumped out to a 25-14 lead by the end of the first quarter and 39-26 by the half.

Taylor Hill and Maribel Ledezma kept the Dust Devils within striking distance through the first two quarters, as Hill heated up to score 13 first-half points on three trifectas, and Ledezma scored six fast-break points.

Hill, who led the Dust Devils with 15 points, scored only two more points the remainder of the game as Truckee took complete control in the third quarter with its smothering press. By the end of the third, Truckee had extended its lead to 57-33.

"I thought we did really well," said Truckee senior forward Krysta Murphy, who scored 16 points in the game, many off of second-chance rebounds. "We definitely worked the ball around really well and passed well."

Senior center Aleigh Krug led all scorers with 17 points, while Sydnie English scored 14 points and Jackie Bolton had nine.