Carson girls have fun in win over Damonte

Carson sophomore guard Brandi Vega decided she either wanted a new look or a bit more fun on the basketball court when she switched her hair from blonde to brunette on Monday.

Following Carson's 47-26 victory over Damonte Ranch at Morse Burley Gym on Tuesday, the verdict was in.

"Definitely, I say yes, we (brunettes) have more fun," laughed Vega, who had nine points and four assists (unofficially) for the Senators, who improved to 9-1 in the Sierra League (where they remain in second place) and 20-4 overall.

Fellow brunette Danielle Peacon led the Lady Senators with a game-high 10 points, senior Kaitlin Burroughs - yet another brunette - added seven as 12 of 13 Carson players scored in the win.

There was one blonde who didn't have much fun and that was Colleen Carlson of the Lady Mustangs, who was held to a team-high eight points and didn't score her first points until she drove in for a layup with 6 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the game.

Unfortunately for Carlson, the basket only cut Carson's lead to 45-16 and the Mustangs fell to 3-6 in league play.

"We tried to take away things from her," said Carson coach Ric Garcia of Carlson. "I think our defense (against her) was more by committee this game. I think we did a better job. We didn't allow them to spread the court as well as the first game."

Although it was a team effort to deny Carlson from even hitting double digits, 6-foot freshman Peacon also had a lot to do with it.

"I was just trying to stay on her right side," Peacon said. "She doesn't do so well with her left hand, so I put a little more pressure on her right. She had more turnovers with her left hand. I tried to box her out. It really helped me. The last game we played her, she went right to the basket after the shots she missed. I tried to prevent that."

Never mind giving up second-chance opportunities, the Senators did a great job of denying the Mustangs almost any opportunities. The Carson defense held Damonte Ranch to six first-quarter points and only four each in the second and third quarters.

Damonte Ranch had as many first-half turnovers as it did points as the Senators held a 31-10 lead going into the locker room.

"I thought we did a better job of going after them and being aggressive," Garcia said. "We wanted to them to play faster than they wanted to and I think we did a good job of that.

"We did a pretty good job against their zone. We were hitting the outside shot and spreading them. We got a fast break here and there. Overall, I'm pleased."

Just as it did after opening the season with a less-than-stellar performance against Reed, Carson has apparently studied some film and learned from its mistakes after last week's loss to first-place Reno.

The Senators have won three in a row since then, beating Douglas, Hug and now Damonte Ranch in convincing fashion.

"I think we're trying to keep the ball in our hands and cut down on turnovers, and on the other side of the ball, cut down on fouls," Garcia said. "We wanted to play defense - not watch them play defense."

Peacon also has continued to develop her game on the inside and the outside on both sides of the ball. She said she was feeling more comfortable with each game and she and her teammates are bonding even more.

"Yeah, you can say that," she said. "I think I have my off-nights, but I have to try to stay in the game as much as I can. Defensively I think that Reno was a very good game for us. We were comfortable going in. We need to build up from the mistakes in that game. I think we'll be fine. I think we're doing real well. We've come a lot closer from the beginning of the season. We need to get closer as we come closer to the playoffs."

Carson made it to the semifinals of the Northern 4A regional playoffs last season, where it lost to eventual zone champion Galena. Can the Senators be a state contender with only four seniors?

"If we come and play every practice hard and play each game hard, I think we can be," Vega said. "We have to have less turnovers and take care of the ball. We have to take open shots. We just have to play."

They did that on Tuesday night and look forward to doing it again on Friday, when they travel to meet the Panthers at North Valley High School at 3:15 p.m.

They will also continue to see if brunettes, a couple of blondes and a salt-and-pepper Garcia can continue to have some fun.