Muckers look to keep season alive in 1A tourney

Virginia City boys and girls basketball squads will travel to Elko High School for the Northern 1A regional basketball playoffs, with both games being played today.

The Virginia City girls, who went through the 1A West unbeaten at 14-0, will play Wells, which enters the game at 8-4. Tip-off is set for 4:40 p.m. today.

After breezing through the regular season, one would think that Virginia City, led by Gigi Glogovac (17.3 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game), Jessi Bailey (7.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg), Taylor Parsons (7.0 ppg) and Jill Dupre (6.8 ppg) would have to guard against overconfidence against a young Wells squad which it beat earlier in the year.

"It's certainly a cause for concern," said Virginia City coach Todd Hess. "We try to make our practices as brutal as possible. The girls feel pretty good about themselves. We want to keep our mental and emotional edge. We want those two things at the highest possible level."

Wells' top player is center Emma Ballard, who averages 8.1 points and 10.6 rebounds a contest.

Wells' perimeter players had a hard time handling Virginia City's pressure when the teams played in December, a game Virginia City easily won. The Leopards constantly turned the ball over, and the Muckers were able to turn many of those mistakes into easy baskets.

BOYS basketball

VIRGINIA CITY VS. EUREKA

The Muckers, coming off an emotional win over Pyramid Lake on Saturday, face off with Eureka at 6:20 p.m. today.

"It's the same team we played last year," Virginia City coach Deny Dotson said. "They have a lot of returning players as do we. I expect the same type of physical game. They're bigger and more mature (compared to last year) just as we are.

"We're playing our best basketball right now. We're not the best shooting team, and we have to continue to attack the basket."

Dotson said cutting down on turnovers and making free throws also are critical to his team's success.

Zach Shell leads the Muckers' scoring at 18 a game, while Hunter Redman is at 14 and Colt Dotson 10. Ryan Connors is the team's top rebounder.

For those fans unable to make the trip up to Elko, both the boys and girls game will be available on the Internet at tinyurl.com/yb8rckm.