Lady Wave ready for hoops finale

The playoff foe is locked in, but two games still linger before the Fallon girls basketball team can turn its eye toward Elko.

The Lady Wave cap their regular season with a pair of Northern Division I-A road games today at 6 p.m. at Sparks and Saturday at 1 p.m. at South Tahoe.

While Fallon’s fate is sealed, South Tahoe (7-8 league, 10-14 overall) is fighting for its postseason life, but they need help. The Vikings must beat Fallon (11-3, 14-8), while Spring Creek (8-6, 11-12) must lose its final two games to enact the tiebreaker.

Regardless of South Tahoe’s situation, the Lady Wave is focused on their status and preparing for the regional tournament.

However, Fallon coach Anne Smith said her club can ill-afford to overlook any club at this point, especially the scrappy Vikings.

“Any given night, a team can have the game of their life,” Smith said of Sparks and South Tahoe. “We have to go out and play to win.”

But really the central point of this week is cleaning up the miscues and perfecting the details.

The Lady Wave are at their best when their full-court pressure defense forces turnovers and transitions into fast-break chances. The half-court sets, though, run through senior guard Ali Tedford and junior forward Megan McCormick.

The duo make for a powerful combination and Fallon becomes even tougher to beat when senior guard Maggie O’Flaherty and junior forward Madison Perazzo are on their game.

Defensively, Zoey Swisher provides support to Tedford in the press, which hounded South Tahoe in their previous matchup, a 33-22 Fallon win on Jan. 17.

“I think they are ready,” Smith said. “We cleaned up some things from the Lowry game. The girls look really good (during practice).”

As good as the defense has been throughout the season, the offensive efficiency has yet to find its consistency.

Still, Fallon has won in a variety of ways whether grinding out a defensive battle, a shoot-out or by blowout.

“We are trying to keep our legs fresh and have been working on shooting,” Smith added.

As for South Tahoe, Smith said her team must shut down Ally King and Beth Chapman. The Vikings strength comes from King and Chapman on the perimeter, while Fallon must exploit its strength in the post.

Offensive fouls plagued the Lady Wave in their previous meeting, which Smith said they must avoid, especially on the road.

“We have to take them out of the game,” she said of King and Chapman. “If we take them out of the game, we will be fine.”