Spanish Springs ends Douglas girls’ season

MINDEN — Anhelica Shanrock scored the game’s first nine points to give Spanish Springs a lead it never relinquished in a 60-50 Northern 4A Region Tournament girls basketball victory on Wednesday night at Douglas.

Shanrock scored 14 of her game-high 27 points in the first quarter.

Spanish Springs (18-9 overall record), the High Desert League’s No. 3 seed, charged to an early 11-0 lead and held on the rest of the way against the stubborn Tigers at Randy Green Court.

This marked the first playoff win for the Spanish Springs girls since Feb. 19, 2014, when the Cougars posted an opening round 43-40 win at Douglas. This was actually the first playoff game since 2014 for the Cougars, who were only 7-20 last season.

Douglas (11-15), the Sierra League’s No. 2 seed, saw its four-game win streak come to end; however, the Tigers gained a measure of consolation in their improvement from a 58-26 loss at Spanish Springs on Dec. 15.

Freshman Madi Smalley scored 21 points to go with 10 rebounds (five offensive) for the Tigers. Freshman Taylynn Kizer also scored 12, including three 3-pointers, and Hannah Carr had 10 points.

There were some anxious moments along the way, too. Down 32-24 at halftime, Smalley and Carr put in two early field goals to bring the Tigers within 32-28. Later, Kizer converted a pair of fourth quarter 3-pointers and sophomore Kevyn Reid came off the bench to drop in a 3-pointer of her own to help Douglas trim a 16-point deficit to nine points — 59-50 ­— with 57.1 seconds left.

Hailey Hughes provided a boost for the Tigers underneath the glass, as the 6-foot sophomore grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked six shots.

Serena Sanchez scored nine points for Spanish Springs, including a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 57-42 with 2:38 left, and Kalli Prendergast had eight points. Kierra Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds.

Spanish Springs will play Reno in the semifinals Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Carson High School. Bishop Manogue will face Reed in the other semifinal at 5:30 p.m.