Slow start kills Carson girls again

RENO - For the second straight game, the Carson High girls basketball team dug itself a huge hole, and for the second straight game, tasted defeat.

Galena scored the game's first 16 points and led by as many as 30 points before settling for a 56-36 win over the Senators in a Sierra League game Tuesday night.

Carson dropped to 3-2 heading into Friday's game against Fallon.

The Senators didn't handle the ball well, turning it over 23 times, and they only knocked down 14 of 57 from the field. Those stats will rarely, if ever, win any games at any level.

"They are probably the second-best team in the North," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "We just dug ourselves a hole again.

"We got good shots, we just didn't make them. You better make shots against Galena or you are going to be in trouble."

The first quarter set the tone, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Carson went 1-for-12 and turned the ball over 10 times. Twelve of Galena's 20 first-quarter points came after Carson mistakes. In the Grizzlies' 16-point run, which was led by Emily Burns and Sara Lancaster with six points apiece, Ackerman decided not to call any time outs.

"I was debating calling one," Ackerman said. "I just decided to let them play. I wanted to see what they would do. You've got to learn to play through some of this."

It didn't get much better for the Senators in the second quarter. Leading 22-7, Galena scored eight straight points on a bucket by Burns (15 points, 15 rebounds) and three straight by Taylor Schaller (14 points) for a 30-7 lead midway through the second quarter. The Grizzlies took a 35-11 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Carson's offense continued to struggle, draining just 3 of 14 shots from the floor.

The third quarter was a sloppy one for the first 4 1/2 minutes as the teams traded turnovers and missed shots.

Carson did cut the lead to 39-21 on a 3-pointer by Kate Schulz, a four-point play by Gina Bianchi, who was fouled on a successful 3-point attempt and a three by Whitney Nash.

The Grizzlies rebounded with a 7-0 run to get its lead back up to 46-21 with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the quarter. Schaller had a basket and free throw in the surge while Burns also contributed a bucket. In fact, Burns scored five in the quarter and had to work for those because of the presence of Schulz.

"She (Burns) was so much quicker than our other posts," Ackerman said. "That's why I put Kate in. Kate did a nice job. She has tremendously long arms and she's a little more athletic."

"Carson did a nice job doubling and tripling her (when the ball went down low)," Galena coach Karen Friel said. "She (Burns) struggled a little. She still played well."

Carson continued to play hard in the fourth period, cutting into the lead late in the game thanks to a 12-0 run inside the final four minutes.

"We played much better in the second half," Ackerman said. "The biggest thing is I felt they settled down. They played hard and didn't quit. We're still learning. We have a ways to go."