Lady Wave grind out win over Vikings

It wasn’t pretty, but the Fallon girls basketball team will take it.

The Lady Wave clawed and scratched their way to a 33-22 Northern Division I-A win over visiting South Tahoe on Saturday at the Elmo Dericco Gym.

Fallon’s win keeps the Lady Wave (6-2 league, 9-7 overall) within striking distance of Lowry (8-0, 12-4) and Elko (7-1, 11-7).

South Tahoe (4-4, 7-10), meanwhile, drops into a logjam for the fourth and final playoff spot with Fernley (4-4, 7-9) and Spring Creek (4-4, 7-10).

“When you miss your wide open shot, it’s a lack of focus,” Fallon coach Anne Smith said. “They kept it together and came away with a win, although it was ugly. The defensive effort was good.”

Fallon and South Tahoe both struggled offensively throughout the game as neither team could find its rhythm. The Vikings shot just 23 percent (9 of 40) from the floor and only connected on 4-of-14 free-throw attempts.

Fallon wasn’t much better, although the Lady Wave relied on its post presence of Megan McCormick and Madison Perazzo.

McCormick led Fallon with 12 points, while Perazzo added 10. Despite the double-digit performances, both had trouble hitting numerous shots in the post.

“I think that we kind of hit a bump in the road and build off it,” McCormick said. “I think we are rushing our shots and not focusing on the square on the back(board).”

Still, McCormick’s physical play and hustle kept South Tahoe’s post from establishing a presence on the block. The Vikings’ Catherine Baghdikian and Alica Rea were limited to five and two points, respectively.

Fallon’s defense also held down Ally King as the South Tahoe guard was 4 of 18 from the floor for nine points.

The Vikings, though, managed to shut down Fallon’s best player, Ali Tedford, who only scored one point and was not a factor as foul trouble limited her time on the floor.

“Just a drought offensively,” South Tahoe coach Michael Neiger said. “I don’t know how many teams are holding Fallon to 33. We were doing well on defense, but just couldn’t get anything going on offense.”

Fallon took a 10-3 lead after the first quarter thanks to four points from McCormick and three from guard Maggie O’Flaherty.

South Tahoe, though, countered in the second quarter to trim the lead to 16-10 at the break. King and Rea each scored as South Tahoe was able to fight its way back.

But South Tahoe’s shooting woes were too much to overcome.

A trio of buckets from McCormick, Perazzo and O’Flaherty pushed the lead to 22-10, while Tedford picked up her fourth foul with 3:08 left in the period.

Although Tedford was sidelined for about 6 minutes, Fallon’s defense never wavered. South Tahoe managed to cut the deficit to nine twice, but a jumper by Perazzo and a pair of free throws from McCormick, who was 6 of 8 from the line for the game, sealed the win.

“I am pleased with their play,” Smith said of her post. “The post did exactly what they were supposed to do. They took some relief off the outside.”

Lady Wave hammers Sparks

Fallon kicked off its weekend slate with a 59-18 drubbing over Sparks on Friday.

The Lady Wave held the Railroaders to six first-half points, while racing out to a 42-6 halftime lead.

McCormick led Fallon with 14 points, while Tedford and O’Flaherty each had eight.

Sparks only connected on six shots from the floor and was led by Louwayne Tinidad’s seven points and three from Driftwind Nau.