Fast start propels Carson girls past Hug
Dave Price
RENO - It wasn't the perfect start as far as the Carson High School girls basketball team was concerned, but certainly good enough to put the Senators on track to a 55-36 victory against Hug on Tuesday night.
The Senators raced to a 15-2 lead in the opening five minutes and never looked back as they began their Sierra League season on a winning note.
"We started out well and that's something we've talked about, to come out harder at the start of games," said senior guard Ciarra Christian, who led all scorers with 13 points. "Our goal was to score on our first 10 possessions. We didn't quite get that, but we did score on our first eight possessions."
Carson (8-5 overall) controlled the tipoff and Andrea Hoff fed an inside pass to Katie Kotter for a left-handed layup to get the ball rolling. Next, Nicole Scott scored on a layup, assisted by Kotter. Scott banked in a short jumper, again assisted by Kotter. Scott scored on a putback and on an inside shot. Kotter sank two free throws and finally, Tabitha Adams converted one of two free throws.
Eight possession and Carson had a 15-2 lead with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter.
Hug (1-6) rallied back to cut the gap to 19-10 at the end of the quarter, thanks in part to its zone defense.
But then the Senators turned to their outside game. Adams knocked down a pair of outside shots and Christian followed with a pair of 3-point bombs, all from the left wing, as the Senators extended their lead to 31-12 with 3:16 remaining in the first half. They led 33-12 at the intermission.
"They were playing zone and had the middle pretty much stopped up, but that left the outside open," said Christian, who had three treys on the night. "So we started to shoot from the outside to open up stuff in the middle.
"It was good to see those (shots) fall. My shot hadn't been on the last few games, so I was happy about tonight."
Kotter finished with 12 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter and Scott had 12 points, eight in the first quarter. Felicia Ladson led Hug with 10 points.
Carson returns to action on Friday night, Jan. 16, for an important league game against North Valleys in Reno.