Hannah Evans goes for a shot as Fernley's Brittney Gaitan blocks her.
Fallon’s girls’ basketball team claimed another Northern 3A victory at home Tuesday, dominating Fernley’s Lady Vaqueros, 63-33, and making them 9-0 in league, 15-3 overall.
The game opened with a trey from Fallon’s Caitlyn Welch. Fernley tied the score, but the Wave quickly leapt into the lead. The Lady Vaqueros recovered though, closing to trail 17-11 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Fallon continued its attack. The Wave pinned down Fernley’s offense, holding them to only seven points. At halftime, the Lady Wave opened up to a strong 32-18 lead.
As the second half began, Fallon continued its crushing offense. Lailani Otuafi and Welch controlled the boards and provided most of the points for the Lady Wave. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 53-25. In the final quarter, Fernley’s defense held the Wave. While Fallon maintained its strong lead, the Lady Vaqueros kept the Wave from gaining more ground before the final buzzer.
Fallon coach Anne Smith said this was the best all-around game of basketball the Lady Wave has played this season.
Defensively, she said the team controlled turnovers and met its goals for improvement. On offense, Smith said the players controlled the boards, making great shots and rebounds.
“Our defense was on point,” she said. “(Otuafi and Welch) have worked hard in practice, so I was happy to see them be able to hit from the outside.”
She said it was nice to see their efforts pay off. The duo led the team with Otuafi scoring 26 points (three steals, six rebounds) and Welch tallying 21 (four steals, five rebounds).
Faith Cornmesser also received praise. She scored four points, and Smith said she did great with rebounds and steals (six rebounds, five steals).
Smith also praised Hannah Evans. Smith said Evans only scored four points, but she was aggressive and tenacious, getting four rebounds and playing hot defense. Smith was especially impressed with her performance since she does not get as much court time.
“For her to come in and do that, I thought was really good,” Smith said.
The Lady Wave travels to Lowry today at 6 p.m. Smith said the Buckaroos have a good team this year and the game will be tough. In practice, the team has been going over its game plans and watching video of its game earlier this season.
