Lady Wave take second in California tournament

The Lady Wave had something extra to celebrate this New Year’s weekend after dominating two games before being defeated in the championship round of the West Coast Jamboree tournament in Santa Rosa, Calif.

The girls’ basketball team had three games in the tournament. On Wednesday (Dec. 28), the girls defeated Santa Rosa, 45-37; Thursday they won against Dublin, 51-46; Friday the Lady Wave fell to Presentation 59-39.

Fallon coach Anne Smith said her team played well. They were short a player and had to make adjustments, but Smith said the players adapted well.

“These were the first games that were a challenge without Leta (Otuafi),” Smith said, “The girls did a good job making adjustments.”

She said the Lady Wave took an early lead and held it throughout the Santa Rosa game. While the Lady Panthers pushed their defense and made a run to tie the game, Fallon stayed ahead to the end.

Against Dublin, Smith said the Wave trailed by 9 points at the end of the first half. They rallied, though, and “clawed their way back and took the win” against the Gaels. The third quarter saw the Wave break through Dublin’s defense andclose to 36-34.

“It was a tough game because we had to fight our way from behind,” Smith said.

In Friday’s game against Presentation, Smith said the Lady Wave simply faced a better team. She said her players fought hard constantly but missed key shots and had too many turn overs. The Wave fell behind in the first quarter and had to fight to catch up the rest of the game.

The tournament didn’t end on a sad note, though. Faith Cornmesser and Lailani Otuafi were named to the All-Tournament team. Cornmesser scored 39 points in the tournament, and Otuafi tallied 35. Caitlyn Welch was another high scorer, tallying 23 points during the week.

The Lady Wave has two home games this week. On Friday, Fallon plays Elko at 6 p.m. and Saturday the Wave plays Spring Creek at 1 p.m.