LADY WOLVES TOURNEY: Basic fails to overcome early deficit in title game loss
Basic girls basketball coach Teresa Gallegos looked up at the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter Wednesday and realized the odds of her team rallying for a victory were not good.
Her hunch proved correct.
The 14-point deficit after eight minutes never got much smaller as Basic fell 57-42 to Yosemite (Calif.) in the championship game of the Lady Wolves Holiday Tournament at Basic.
Syd Fipps had 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals to lead the Badgers, who shut down the Wolves with a quick, physical game from start to finish.
“That first quarter was really frustrating,” said Gallegos, whose squad fell behind 21-7. “At halftime, I just told the girls to wake up because we weren’t sticking to our game plan.”
Basic committed 20 of its 31 turnovers in the first half, and Yosemite took advantage by going up 33-14 on a fast-break layup by Taylor Jensen.
“I thought we played tough defense,” Badgers coach Gary Blate said. “And that really set up our fast break.”
The Wolves started to take advantage of Yosemite’s foul trouble, cutting the deficit to 44-33 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Noemi Hernandez and Marissa Ross early in the fourth quarter. A layup by Marquichea Burns three minutes later cut the gap to 49-39, but that was as close as Basic would get.
The Badgers controlled the ball the rest of the way, scoring eight of the game’s final 11 points.
Despite the loss, Gallegos said she was pleased that her team went 3-1 in the tourney, improving its overall record to 6-3 to match last season’s win total.
“That’s a big accomplishment,” Gallegos said. “The girls have really gained confidence in themselves.”
Michaela Thomas had 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals to lead Basic. Burns added 13 points and six rebounds.
Marina (Calif.) 36, Foothill 33 — In the third-place game, Alyssa Kinoshita scored a team-high 15 points as the Vikings held off a late rally to edge the Falcons.
Bri Higgons led Foothill with 12 points.
Cheyenne 64, Boulder City 49 — In the consolation championship, Hannah Tatum scored 20 points to lead the Desert Shields past the Eagles.
Avalon Frantz scored 13 points to lead Boulder City.
Faith Lutheran 46, Rancho 43 — Kelsey McCourt scored 21 points to help the Crusaders rally from an early deficit and edge the Rams.
Aisha Momodu scored 11 points to pace Rancho, which missed 24 free throws in the game.
Desert Oasis 32, Clark 24 — Tatiana Kearn scored 10 points to lead the Diamondbacks past the Chargers.
Julianna Thornock scored six points to lead Clark, which was held to two points in the third quarter.
Tech 60, Virgin Valley 39 — Mesha Phillps led four double-digit scorers with 21 points as the Roadrunners cruised past the Bulldogs.
Rachel Morris scored 12 points to lead Virgin Valley.
Steveston-London (Canada) 46, Cimarron-Memorial 38 — Anmol Mattu scored 18 points to help the Sharks rally to defeat the Spartans.
Chalon Henderson scored nine points for Cimarron, which led 13-8 after the first quarter.
Desert Pines 63, Las Vegas 55 — LaBrea Walker scored 31 points to lift the Desert Shields over the Wildcats.
Shomari Harris scored 13 points for Las Vegas.
