Madison Rodgers of Douglas drives the baseline in a playoff game against McQueen on Tuesday night.
RENO — Carson High’s girls basketball season came to a disappointing end Tuesday night in the opening round of the NIAA Division I basketball playoffs.
The Senators managed a season-low in points en route to a 74-11 loss to the Reno Huskies in a game that was played with a running clock the entire second half.
The win advances Reno to the semifinals on Friday. The loss ended Carson’s season at 8-16 under first-year head coach Melissa Larsen.
“They are a really good team,” Larsen said moments after the game. “They are all basketball players.
“For us, it was about not doing the little things like coming to the ball to meet passes, taking care of the ball and blocking out. I’m glad we got this far. The girls worked really hard this season.”
Two stats tell the story. The Senators were an ice cold 4-for-37 from the field and they turned the ball over 24 times, leading to 28 Reno points.
There’s a certain fluidity to Reno. The game comes natural to the players. They are sound fundamentally, and they all shoot well from the outside, even 6-4 Mallory McGwire. Carson often looks disjointed at both ends of the court; has trouble in its half court offense.
“Our kids put a lot of time into the game,” Reno coach Shane Foster said. “Many of our kids play a second sport, but basketball is their top priority. Our next game is big. We need to win to get into the finals and qualify for state.”
Foster has his eye on a Saturday regional rematch with Bishop Manogue, which ended Reno’s two-year hold on the regional championship last year at Carson High.
“We know they are good,” Foster said. “They have beaten us the last two times we played.”
This one was over early. Reno scored 11 of the first 13 on treys by Daranda Hinkey (18 points) and McGwire (17 points) plus a lay-up, outback and free throw by McKain Murdock.
After Haley Garver (9 points) scored to end the drought with 4:32 left, Reno went on a 17-0 run to end the quarter with a 28-4 advantage. Kaolin Ramos had a three-point play and free throw and Dominique Harding knocked down a 3-pointer.
Unfortunately for the Senators, the second quarter was worse. Reno continued its scoring surge, blanking CHS 21-0 en route to a 49-4 halftime lead. CHS was 2-for-23 from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 20 Reno points.
For some strange reason, Reno came out in the second half with its starting lineup, and that group went on an 11-3 surge to make it 60-6. McGwire had the first six in the surge and Hinkey added the next five.
Douglas 59, McQueen 49
RENO — Led by Hailey Hughes and Maddy Lowe, the Douglas High girls came out on Tuesday night and turned their decided height advantage into a 59-49 Northern Division I Region Tournament victory.
Hughes, a 6-foot freshman post player, scored five of her 16 points down the stretch and Lowe chipped in with another 16 as Douglas held on to win the opening round contest at John J. Flynn Gymnasium.
Douglas (13-12 overall, No. 3 Sierra League seed) has won six of its last seven games and 10 of 13 games in 2016.
The Tigers move on to the region tournament semifinals for the second straight year and a meeting against Sierra League champion Bishop Manogue on Thursday at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks.
McQueen (19-7 overall, High Desert League No. 2 seed) won an earlier meeting against the Tigers 54-31 on Dec. 8.
The rematch was an entirely different story as 5-10 senior forward Maddy Lowe hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 19-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
McQueen, which had no starter who stands taller than 5-7, pulled to within 25-19 at halftime, only to see Douglas push its lead to 40-24 with 2:02 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers took a 40-30 lead to the fourth quarter, however, Izzy Warren dialed in on back-to-back 3-pointers as the Lancers pulled to within 47-44.
Hughes took charge as the Tigers held on for the victory.
Janae Blue Horse also scored 10 points and Hannah Carr eight to help the Douglas cause.
In other first-round games Tuesday: Manogue led start to finish en route to an 87-54 win over Reed and Damonte Ranch came away with a 58-53 win over North Valleys.
Record-Courier staff writer Dave Price contributed to this story.
