Miners run past Carson girls

RENO - Bishop Manogue's girls like to run with the basketball, and Carson was ill-equipped to deal with the running.

The Miners consistently beat the Senators downcourt for easy baskets en route to a 77-56 triumph Saturday afternoon in a Sierra League contest.

"That was the first time we played a game that had any kind of pace, and we weren't ready for it," Carson coach Nathan Tolbert said. "We spotted them too many points in the first half. We played them even the second half. They went to their bench and we went to our bench."

"We didn't run well against Spanish Springs," Manogue coach Craig Holt said. "We saw film on them and I thought we could have success because of their defensive transition. I would just send my two guards down on every shot."

That strategy led to several uncontested layups and a lot of 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 advantages. Even when the Miners had the ball in the halfcourt, Carson was unable to slow them down in the first 16 minutes.

Carson trailed 20-10 after one quarter, but baskets by Savannah Smith (13 points) and Natali Salas (13 points) cut the deficit to 20-14 with about seven minutes left in the half.

Unfortunately that's when the game got away from Carson. Manogue went on a half-ending 27-12 run to lead 47-26 at the half. Manogue had an 20-4 surge over a span of approximately 4 1/2 minutes.

Gabi Concepcion, who led all scorers with 22 points, started the surge with two free throws and a basket. Hannah Santos (16 points) dropped in two free throws and Brianna Holt (13 points) scored on a fast-break lay-up to make it 28-14 with 5:09 left in the second quarter.

After two free throws by Madison Preston, the Miners went on an 8-2 run to make it 40-18. Santos led the surge with two 3-pointers.

Concepcion had 16 of her 22 in the first 16 minutes, and nobody on Carson's team was able to shut her down. She drove to the basket and stepped out past the 3-point line to knock down shots.

"She (Concepcion) can play," Tolbert said. "I started with Madison. She didn't have the 'attitude' that she needed out there."

An 11-2 third-quarter run made it 63-37 and then a 14-5 run early in the fourth quarter gave the Miners their biggest lead of the game, 77-47. Manogue had four 3-pointers in that stretch.

Carson finished strong, scoring the last nine points of the game, four by Gina Peacock and three by Smith.

When asked what he could take away from the loss, Tolbert was quick to respond.

"We can get better," Tolbert said. "We're still young. We adjusted during the game. I expect it will be a different game the next time we play."

"Carson plays hard," Holt said. "They scored more points than I expected them to."