Thurman helps Blue squad to win

Elena Thurman said she hadn’t played basketball since Carson High was eliminated from the section playoffs in mid-February, but it wasn’t evident Wednesday night.

Thurman played her usual solid floor game and contributed a basket and free throw to spark a 12-3 run late in the game to help the Blue defeat the White, 82-75, in the fourth annual Local Sports Program Senior All-Star basketball game at Morse Burley Gym.

“It was an enjoyable experience getting to meet all the girls,” said Thurman, who finished with seven points. “I had a lot of fun tonight and it was fun getting to play here (at Carson).”

In the end, it was the Blue squad having too much depth and too much size, according to White coach Craig Holt of Bishop Manogue.

“They were a little too big for us,” Holt said. “They really hurt us inside.”

Especially Spanish Springs’ Lanesha Terrance, who led the Blue team in scoring with 15 points. Fallon’s Cady Cordes and Douglas’ Desiree Cage also enjoyed success inside with eight points apiece.

“I don’t know that we made that good of use of it (size advantage),” said Carson’s Nathan Tolbert, who guided the Blue team to the win. “We were using a four-minute rotation. When the score got close at the end, we still had fresh legs in the game. That’s when we knew we were OK. I was just honored that I was able to coach the team.”

Thanks to the play of Reno’s Gigi Hascheff and McQueen’s Emma White, the White squad wiped out a 62-56 deficit and took a 70-68 lead with 4:04 remaining. Hascheff, who finished with a game-high 32 points, had a basket and free throw in the surge. White knocked down two 3-pointers, Wooster’s Sumer Dressler scored from the key and Kelly Lujan, who finished with 17 points, scored on a nice drive to the basket.

Hascheff was unstoppable in the second half with 20 of her 32.

Cordes tied the game at 70 with an inside bucket with 3:04 left, and then Sarita Jo Condie of Lovelock snapped the deadlock on a nice drive to the basket with 2:27 left. After White misfired, Thurman got an offensive rebound and was fouled. She drained a free throw to make it 73-70. North Valleys’ Haley Bowen (10 points) drained a 3-pointer to make it 76-70, and then added another basket 24 seconds later to complete the surge and make it 78-70.

Hascheff knocked down her final trey of the game to make it 78-73 with 1:08 left, but Thurman answered with a bucket to make it 80-73 with 46.6 to go.

It came down to Hascheff and Lujan against the depth of the Blue team.

“They (Lujan and Hascheff) have been playing a lot and it showed,” Holt said. “A lot of the girls I’m not sure how much they had been playing and a couple I’d never even seen play before.”

Tolbert said he enjoyed watching Hascheff, who has terrorized Carson in the past, and Lovelock’s Condie, who certainly showed she would have thrived against Division I schools.

“You are talking about the two best guards in Northern Nevada,” Tolbert said. “It was a pleasure to watch them go at it. Sarita had a little better supporting cast I think.”

The Blue squad led by double digits throughout most of the first half, but lost that lead, 41-40, in the first three minutes of the second half. The Blue team came right back and built up a 62-56 lead with 8:53 left to set up the exciting finish.

NOTES: The game consisted of two 20-minute halves instead of the usual four 8-minute quarters. Players were also given six fouls instead of five ... Douglas’ Diana Regalado had six points for the Blue squad and Carson’s Maddi Saarem added three.