FALLON - The Fallon Optimist Club gave senior basketball players in Northern Nevada one final sendoff to their high school careers.
The girls' Blue team used its height advantage to take the 69-45 win over the Silver team in the 6th Annual Fallon Optimist Basketball Classic Tuesday at the Elmo Dericco Gym.
"This was a great group of girls. They're really good kids," said Blue coach Chelle Dalager. "These kids like playing and it's just a little drive out here."
Dalager, who resigned from coaching the Greenwave this past season, didn't think she would coach another high school game.
"Not so much," she said, "but Scott Meihack (the game's organizer) was in a bind. It was fun."
Not used to having players taller than six feet on her Fallon team, Dalager favored the abundance in height.
"Our own kids have done a great job for us," Dalager added. "Basketball is definitely a game of size. Those two (Anita Burdick of North Valleys and Nicole Scott of Carson) are big, and they can move."
Silver coach Angelo Tenorio of Truckee liked how the Fallon Optimist Club gave high school seniors one last chance to light up the gym floor.
"It gives the girls the opportunity to play with other players," Tenorio said. "It's a great deal. It's fun. The girls are learning to play together."
Tenorio enjoyed himself and felt privileged to be selected as one of the two coaches.
"I had a great time. It's a great experience," he said. "It's an honor to be asked to coach these great players."
Burdick led the Blue team with 17 points, and Scott added 15, while Stephanie Wolfgang (Fallon) had 14. Rosella Nunez (Carson) scored nine points, and Sam Botsford (Spring Creek) added four.
"I think it was good because we had height advantage for sure," Scott said. "It was a good way to play a game. It was a lot of fun."
Nunez agreed with her fellow Carson teammate.
"It feels really good to play one last time together," Nunez said. "It is a really good experience."
Nunez, though, knew Scott would play in the Optimist game, but she didn't know if she would have the opportunity.
"I wasn't too sure about myself," Nunez said. "It was a good chance to play one last time."
For the Silver team Caitlin Anderson (Galena) led with 17 points, and Krystal Glass (Lovelock) added six. Kaitlin Porter (Galena) scored five points, and Felicia Tenorio (Truckee) had four.
The Blue team managed to jump ahead by seven points after the first quarter, 17-10, and added 22 points in the second quarter to go up 39-22 at halftime.
After losing the third quarter 9-8, the Blue team powered in another 22-point quarter in the fourth, outscoring the Silver team by eight points.