WAVE HOOPS: Girls win 2, boys stuggle in Las Vegas

After weather postponed the Fallon girls basketball team’s home opener, the Lady Wave took to the court at the Reno Winter Challenge last weekend.

The Lady Wave went 2-2 with wins against Atwater (Calif.), 53-49, and Galena, 42-35. Fallon, though, fell 39-34 to Incline and 55-33 to Carson.

The Lady Wave (2-2) opens their home slate at 6 p.m. Friday against Spring Creek and at 2 p.m. Saturday against Elko.

“We saw some good things, and some things we need to work on,” Fallon coach Anne Smith said, “which is why you have a preseason. We should have walked away 3-1 instead of 2-2.”

Fallon’s first game saw the Lady Wave blow a double-digit lead against Incline. The Highlanders held Fallon to two points in the fourth quarter.

Incline’s full-court press forced the Lady Wave into numerous turnovers, Smith said, which catapulted the Highlanders past Fallon.

Making an impression, though, was freshman Kayla Buckmaster, who had a team-high 10 points and nine rebounds in her varsity debut. Shelby Smith added eight points and nine rebounds, while Ali Tedford chipped in with eight boards and Gabby Sharpe dished out four assists.

The shooting woes, though, were too much for Fallon to overcome. The Lady Wave hit 15-of-51 attempts (29 percent).

“The crazy thing is we were beating the press until the fourth quarter,” Anne Smith said. “We were not in an attack-type defense.”

Although Fallon stumbled out of the gate, the Lady Wave rebounded with a come-from-behind victory against Atwater. Trailing 29-13 at halftime, Fallon exploded for 40 points in the second half to rally.

Tedford and Megan McCormick each had 11 points, Hannah Lindsay, who did not play against Incline, added nine and Sharpe and Smith each chipped in with eight.

“We had all five (starters), so we had that core,” Anne Smith said. “They did a good job of controlling the boards.”

Against Carson, the Senators’ pressure defense disrupted the Fallon offense, Anne Smith said. Carson’s offense, meanwhile, drove the lane at will and was able to find easy buckets in the 55-33 drubbing.

But Fallon bounced back against Galena. Lindsay tallied 15 points, while Sharpe scored 14 including draining three 3-pointers. McCormick added six points and Buckmaster gobbled up eight rebounds in the victory.

“Between Hannah and Sharpe, they couldn’t commit to both,” Anne Smith said.

Passing crippled the Lady Wave, the third-year coach said. Erratic passes led to turnovers, which hampered Fallon’s offensive attack.

Defensively, the Lady Wave must be more aggressive and apply pressure to opposing ball handlers.

“We definitely want to work on attack mode,” Anne Smith said.

But it is not all doom-and-gloom. The positives were the emergence of Buckmaster in the post and on the perimeter and the Lady Wave’s outside shooting provided a spark.

“The shooting aspect of it I was happy with,” Anne Smith said.

Boys struggle in Las Vegas

The Fallon boys team dropped three of four games at the Legacy Tip-Off Classic in Las Vegas last week.

The Wave fell to Sierra Vista, 75-38, Rancho, 63-51, and Desert Oasis, 57-43. Fallon, though, beat Robert Bateman (Canada), 51-41, in the teams’ finale.

The Greenwave open their home schedule at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Spring Creek at the Elmo Dericco Gym. Fallon plays at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Spring Creek.

“Our goal was to get better every time we walked on the floor, and we did that,” coach Brad Barton said. “It was a fun trip and we grew closer as a team. We saw some good competition from some bigger quicker schools in Vegas to help prepare us for league. We still feel like we’re playing catch-up from an extended football season, some winter flu, and trying to implement a whole new system of play with the new coaching staff. Hopefully we can put it all together this weekend for a homestand.”