Fallon’s Cassie Edgmon sets up her game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime in the Lady Wave’s 34-33 win over Elko on Friday
With less than a minute left in regulation, the Lady Wave needed clutch long-range shooting and defensive stops to keep their playoff hopes alive.
And they were able to get both.
Cassie Edgmon’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in regulation and Fallon’s fourth-quarter defense capped off a 13-point comeback as the Lady Wave upset Elko, 34-33, in overtime on Friday at the Elmo Dericco Gymnasium.
“Being able to stay close in the game gave our girls some confidence. We had a huge crowd that night and it helped as well,” Fallon coach Kevin Wickware said. “We just played with more confidence than we had in a while. We handled the pressure better than in recent games because Elko provides (pressure) the whole game.”
Fallon, which lost to Spring Creek, 51-19, the following day, needed to split last weekend’s games against the Elko County schools to stay in the running for one of six berths to next month’s regional tournament in Winnemucca. Fallon still sits above .500 in league with a 5-4 record but will travel to first-place Lowry on Friday before facing a pair of Lyon County schools the following weekend.
“That was a huge win for us with playoff implications,” Wickware said of his team, which sits fifth in the Northern 3A. “Getting that one from Elko was a big deal. It was a big boost for our playoff hopes.”
With the addition of Wooster and Hug during the latest realignment, the Northern 3A, now split into two divisions (West and East), doesn’t include an equal number of games within each division and in cross-play.
The top team in each of the two divisions qualifies for the regional tournament in Winnemucca. The next four best teams, regardless of division, also advance. It’s possible that only one team from one division and five from the other can make the playoffs.
The 3A East and West teams play each other once. Within the division, teams play each other twice. Potentially complicating the landscape is the pandemic postponing games, forcing teams to make them up before the regular season ends in three weeks. Twelve games, mainly with the West division, still need to be made up.
As of last weekend’s outcomes, Lowry (6-0) from the East and Truckee (2-2) from the West are No. 1 in their respective divisions. The next four in are Spring Creek (8-1), Fallon (6-4), Elko (5-2) and Fernley (5-2). There are six teams in each league with a total of 15 games for each team.
In Friday’s thrilling win over Elko, senior Sydney Jarrett buried a 3-pointer in the corner in front of the Fallon bench and her defense led to another score with one minute left and the team down by four after trailing by as many as 13 in the quarter. Edgmon sunk a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to one possession before Peyton Jacaway hit one free throw, setting up Fallon’s final play.
In front of a deafening student section, the Elko offense buckled again as Shaylee Coldwell’s steal set up Fallon’s game-tying possession. Jarrett, trapped in the corner, found Edgmon open behind the perimeter, nailing her only 3-point attempt in front of her bench while the student section and home crowd erupted as Fallon ended the quarter on a 14-1 run.
The defense swarmed Elko on the inbound as the Indians raced down the floor and a last attempt fell short, sending the game into overtime.
“We were on a pretty emotional high and we carried it into overtime,” Wickware said about the team heading into the extra period. “The bench stayed in the game the whole time for us.”
In the extra frame, the Lady Indians continued their rattled play — Fallon grabbing a 31-29 lead on a pair of free throws from Coldwell. Sydney Jarrett added two free throws — going 1-for-2 on separate trips — opening a 33-29 advantage for the Lady Wave.
Madigan went 1-for-2 at the stripe for the Lady Indians, bringing the deficit back to a one-score deal at 33-30. On the other side, Zoey Jarrett also went 1-for-2 — pushing the margin back to two scores at 34-30.
Eklund buried a timely three for the Lady Indians — her third trey of the ballgame — with 21.4 seconds remaining. Elko elected not to foul and forced a tie-up with six ticks on the clock, but the Lady Indians’ potential game-winning shot was off the mark.
Wickware switched the defense from zone to man-to-man, which limited Elko to only eight points after the third quarter. He said Sydney Jarrett stood out and led the team’s defensive efforts.
“It helped generate momentum with steals and limiting Elko to what they’re doing,” he added.
Edgmon paced Fallon with 13 points and Eklund led the way for Elko with 13 of her own. Jacaway approached double digits with eight points for the Lady Indians, Sydney Jarrett scoring all seven of her points in the fourth quarter and OT for the Lady Wave. Zoey Jarrett scored six points, Helton added four.
Fallon won the free-throw battle, converting 9-of-17 attempts while Elko missed 13 of its 17 attempts.
Wickware credits the student section’s intensity for helping disrupt Elko. Earlier in the season, the students were piled next to the band across the visiting team’s bench. However, the section was moved during league play on the Fallon side. The students were loud on every Fallon bucket and continued that level as Elko inbounded the ball and faced Fallon’s press.
“That was a big deal,” Wickware said. “For them to provide energy offensively immediately and then on defense. It was cool to see it again.”
Edgmon notched the game’s first bucket with Elko finding the scoreboard with a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line by junior Johanna Rivera. The Lady Wave grabbed a 4-1 lead on a deuce by sophomore Zoey Jarrett, and the margin went to five on Edgmon’s second field goal.
The deficit was decreased to three on a finish in the lane by Elko junior Isabela Torres, the first bucket for the Lady Indians not coming until midway through the frame. But, the Lady Indians heated up late in the period — juniors Aurora Eklund and Alysia Madigan splashing consecutive threes.
Toward the end of the quarter, Eklund benefited from an offensive rebound and a dish by freshman Lindsey Johns. Entering the second, the Lady Indians led by five at 11-6 after a 10-0 run.
Jacaway pushed the streak to 12 straight with a two, Fallon stopping the run with an easy bucket at point-blank range from senior Trinity Helton. Eklund made a steal and dashed to the tin for a layup, but Jarrett cashed a triple for the Lady Wave and brought the score to 15-11.
The teams exchanged scores to close the half, sophomore Bryleigh Cervantes hitting a jumper for the Lady Indians and junior RayAnn Rasmussen beating the buzzer for Fallon. At the break, Elko led a low-scoring affair 17-13.
Starting the third, Lindsey Johns dropped a high-arching shot for a six-point lead — Elko adding a free throw for a seven-point cushion. Jacaway buried a long two with her toes on the three-point line, answered on the other end with a pair of free throws from Edgmon. In return, Jacaway hammered a three for a 10-point lead.
Elko took a 25-15 lead into the fourth quarter, and the advantage grew to 13 early in the fourth on Eklund’s second trey of the contest.
However, Fallon closed the contest on a 14-1 flurry — the Lady Indians going ice cold down the stretch, missing a multitude of free throws and turning the ball over with regularity. Edgmon cut the deficit to 11 with an offensive put-back, and a follow by Helton trimmed the margin to nine at 28-19.
Fallon falls to Spring Creek
Fallon couldn’t hang with the second-best team in the division as the Spartans won by 32 points.
“Playing back to back is really difficult,” said Wickware, who added that the team’s energy dropped off in the second quarter. “Spring Creek flat out plays good basketball. They are a really good outside shooting team. It’s similar to playing Lowry. They play very fundamentally sound basketball. I don’t think we played bad defensively. If you don’t score with a team like that, you’re going to get into the position we’re in.”
Edgmon led Fallon with seven points, Zoey Jarrett added four and Sadoni Downs had three.
Elko Daily’s Anthony Mori contributed to this story.
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