Senator girls roll to easy win vs. South Tahoe

SOUTH TAHOE - It may not rank as its best game of the season, but Carson's 49-25 victory over the Lady Vikings of South Tahoe blends in just fine in the mosaic of the Lady Senators' 6-0 Sierra League and 17-3 overall record.

Sophomore guard Brandi Vega scored a team-high 11 points, senior Kaitlin Burroughs added nine and freshman center Danielle Peacon contributed seven as Carson shut down the Vikings at South Tahoe High School.

South Tahoe managed only three points in the first quarter, nine in the second and five in the fourth against the Senators' stingy defense.

"I don't think our press was as good as (it was in a win over North Valleys on Friday), but we got it going," Carson coach Ric Garcia said. "I thought we really struggled on shooting - especially in the first half. We didn't get inside. In the second half we were better at getting inside. We still weren't hitting them. We got inside, but we weren't able to finish."

The Senators led 13-3 after the first quarter and 25-9 going into halftime, but they weren't putting the ball in the net often. They finished the game11-of-26 from the foul line.

South Tahoe had an even rougher time hitting shots, whether they were from the floor or the charity stripe. The Vikings finished 7-of-22 from the foul line. Karli Vath scored a team-high eight points.

"Defensively we did mainly what you'd want to do - anytime you hold someone in the 20s or 30s, you're usually pretty good defensively," Garcia said.

Whatever liabilities Carson had offensively, it made up for in other ways as a team.

Senior forward Anna Macquarie had a team-high nine rebounds to go with her four points, Vega added three assists and three steals and Peacon snapped up three steals and six rebounds.

Senior guard Megan Kilty supplemented her five points with five assists, five rebounds and six steals, while sophomore forward Cassie Vondrak grabbed seven rebounds in limited playing time.

Macquarie was particularly tenacious on defense and on the boards, something Garcia has grown accustomed to seeing from his 5-9 forward.

"Defensively, Anna's been our leader all year, I think," Garcia said. "She gets rebounds and just battles. She kinda sets the tone and gets everybody up defensively."

Macquarie said she felt her team was a little tired following its 54-41 win over North Valleys on Friday, but that it pulled together when it had to.

"I think our team did pretty well tonight," Macquarie said. "I think defense is really important. (Friday) we weren't great. Today we stepped it up. I don't make many points, so I try to get back on defense and make up for it that way. I think Kaitlin did well today. Brandi did a really good job not fouling or letting her player get by."

Macquarie opened up the third quarter with a bank shot and Burroughs followed with a layup off a Vega feed to put Carson up 29-9, with 7:02 to go in the third.

After Alexis Holmes drained a 15-foot jumper, Peacon responded with a layup. Kilty subsequently stole the ball and passed to Vega, who finished the play with a layup. A pair of Macquarie free throws made it 35-11, with 4:52 to go.

"It was more of a team effort," Garcia said. "We struggled as a team, but we kept a nice distance. We never lost our composure. We never panicked."

South Tahoe's Janelle Contaxis hit a 15-footer to cut the lead to 17 at 35-18, but that's as close as the Vikings would get. Carson led, 42-20, at the end of the third and went up by as many as 25 when junior guard Christa Casci hit a pair of free throws with 2:14 to go in the game.

"This sets us up real well for the second half," Garcia said before addressing his team's next opponent, Reno. "The game Tuesday is important for sizing them (the Huskies) up if nothing else. But it's not as big a game as what people think it is. In the scenario they beat us or we beat them - either way - it comes down to the (final) game at Reno."

Although the teams are tied for first place, Garcia said there are more important considerations for now.

"We're still going to learn a lot," Garcia said. "We'll know where we are and know what to work on. One way or the other, it will teach us things whether we win or lose."

For her part, Macquarie said she's excited but focused.

"We're looking at this one game at a time," Macquarie said. "We haven't really been thinking about it. Now we're 6-0 and it's the last game of the first half. We're going to start looking at that. It will be a tough game. I think our team's good enough to play with them this year."

The Carson-Reno game begins at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at Morse Burley Gym at Carson High School.

CHS JVS 51,

SOUTH TAHOE 31

Carson (16-4) led just 20-16 at halftime, but outscored South Tahoe 16-5 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win. Breanna Anderson scored 12 points, Yvonne Hollett had 11 points, Krista Mattice had eight points and Loretta Cagle added six rebounds for Carson.

CHS FROSH 44,

SOUTH TAHOE 18

Marcela Watson scored seven points, Amanda Otto had five points and Caitlin Berkich, Terralyn Tiffer, Yadira Duarte, Katie McFarren, Sara Anderson and Natalie Morrow all added four points for Carson (13-5, 5-1).