Even though both teams brought identical 2-1 Northern 4A Division II records onto the court Tuesday night, it would have been easy for the Carson High School girls basketball team to take Fallon lightly.
After all, the Senators had been the beneficiary of Wooster's stunning 52-49 upset of Reno on Saturday, a verdict that knocked Reno from the unbeaten ranks in division play. It also left Carson in the position of being able to seize sole possession of first-place when its hosts Reno next Tuesday.
But there are other tasks to take care of in the meantime, starting with Fallon, and the Senators didn't falter in their assignment. Spurred by a 17-2 run over an eight-minute span bridging the first and second quarters, Carson took charge and went on to a 61-45 victory at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
By winning, Carson improved to 3-1 in Division II (18-4 overall) and pulled to within one-half game of 4-1 Reno in the standings while Fallon fell to 2-2 (8-6 overall). The Senators knew what they had to do in this one.
"We just want to take it one game at a time," said junior post Meghan Gradert, who scored five of her nine points in the first quarter to help put the Senators on track. "Tonight was a real big game. We started slow, but once we got focused, we got going and we didn't look back."
The complexion of the game changed when Carson turned a 14-10 deficit midway through the first quarter into a 27-16 lead midway through the second. There were contributions from various sources along the way, too.
Gradert took an inside pass from Alyson Thurman and scored to break a 16-16 tie. Moments later, Erin Stieber stole the ball and drove the length of the floor for a layup, drawing a foul in the process, and the sophomore point guard converted the free throw to put Carson on top, 21-16. Thurman added a pair of free throws and then she scored on a breakaway layup after receiving a long downcourt pass from Jina Padilla. Pam Williams turned another steal into a layup that made it 27-16 with 4:50 to go in the second quarter. After that, Amanda Hoff also came off the bench and scored six points as Carson left the court with a 33-20 advantage at the intermission.
Thurman finished with 18 points to lead a balanced Carson offense. Williams added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Hoff finished with eight points, shooting 3-for-4 from the floor, to go with four rebounds. Stieber also scored seven points and was a key bringing the ball up the floor.
"Erin did a good job breaking their press tonight," Carson coach Paul Croghan said. "They had to take the press off because she was getting past the three defenders up on top and creating 2-on-1 and even 3-on-1 situations."
Another plus for the Senators was their 15-for-19 shooting from the free throw line. Thurman, Williams and Davina Carter combined to shoot 11-for-11.
Fallon was led by Monica Meihack with 11 points while freshman Terrin Johnston added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Carson's lone loss came by a 50-36 score at Reno on Jan. 7, so needless to say, the Senators are looking forward to the upcoming rematch.
"There are still a lot of other league games to go," Croghan said. "We've got to to Wooster, Fallon, Hug ... all those places. We go to Wooster on Friday, and I'm sure they'll be sky high. We just need to take care of business."