Douglas girls survive McQueen

It won’t go down as the prettiest win of the season, but Douglas High School girls basketball did enough to come out victorious over McQueen Tuesday night in the Class 4A North regional playoffs.

Despite being held to six points in the final quarter, the third-seeded Tigers were able to survive and advance with a 44-39 win over the Lancers.

The result sets up a third showdown with second-seeded Spanish Springs Thursday, after the Cougars beat Galena, 67-30.

Douglas and Spanish Springs will play for a regional championship, and state tournament, appearance Thursday at 7 p.m. in Sparks. 

“It’s going to take a massive defensive effort and offensively we have to finish,” said Douglas head coach Jason Carter on what it will take to beat Spanish Springs.

The two teams split their two regular season meetings with the home side winning both times.

Staying alive

Even prior to Tuesday night’s win, the Tigers have been battling.

An illness has cost the team some practice time in the last few days, but it won’t earn them any leeway as they try to continue their season.

“Credit to them (McQueen). They played very well,” said Carter. “We were sick. I haven’t seen them this sick all season. We didn’t even have a full practice last night (Monday).”

Douglas led, 40-37, with a little more than two minutes remaining in regulation when Zora Simpson threw a dime to McKenzie Main for a triple at the top of the arc.

The six-point lead was enough for the Tigers to salt away the clock as the Lancers only managed a single bucket over the final two-and-a-half minutes of the contest.

It’s been a staple all season long, when Douglas needs its defense to step up, the Tigers have answered the call.

Douglas mixed-and-matched three-quarter court press along with zone defense in the halfcourt, sprinkling in some man-to-man throughout the evening.

“They were resilient. Their energy on defense was key,” said Carter. “I thought we gave them fits mixing up the defense a lot.”

Douglas limited McQueen to nine points in the first and fourth quarters.

On the offensive end, Douglas found some hot hands that came in a timely fashion.

Main once again led the Tigers’ scoring effort with a game-high 14 points, knocking down three 3-pointers in the second half.

After scoring five points in the first quarter, Douglas found Simpson in the second quarter as she stepped into three 3-pointers of her own over the eight-minute stretch. Simpson ended the night with nine points.

“She heats up in that second quarter,” said Carter.

Ashlyn Greenfield hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter before depositing baskets in the second and fourth quarters on her way to seven points.

Hailee Koontz ended the night with six points as her final bucket of the evening closed the third quarter.

Koontz rejected a shot on the defensive end to start a Tiger transition opportunity.

Though the fast break didn’t result in points immediately, Koontz was able to battle for an offensive rebound and a putback score to close to quarter, giving Douglas a 38-30 lead after three.

Logan Karwoski had four points for Douglas while Sky Rasmussen and Giana Zinke each had two.

“Offensively, it was a struggle. We have to do a better job of shooting and taking care of the ball,” said Carter. “Hey, it’s the first round. It doesn’t matter if you get the ‘W’.”

Regional quarterfinal scores

No. 2 Spanish Springs 67, No. 7 Galena 30

No. 1 Bishop Manogue 75, No. 9 Carson 35

No. 4 Damonte Ranch 52, No. 5 Reno 51

(Ashlyn Greenfield tosses up a basket inside the paint, during Douglas High’s 44-39 win over McQueen Tuesday night in the Class 4A North regional quarterfinal. / Ron Harpin)