Peacon leads Carson girls over Hug

Enough was enough as far as the Carson High girls basketball team was concerned.

After watching the pesky and improved Hug Hawks hang around for the better part of three quarters, the Senators finally got down to business and pulled away to a 48-33 Sierra League victory Saturday afternoon at Morse Burley Gymnasium. Freshman center Danielle Peacon delivered a double-double - 20 points and 12 rebounds - and a 17-4 run over the final six minutes enabled the Senators (8-1 league, 19-4 overall) to break open a close struggle and pull away from a Hug (4-5, 6-8) squad that remains in the thick of playoff contention.

Remember, Carson easily disposed of Hug 65-27 in a league game on Jan. 13 in Reno. The rematch was considerably different.

"Hug came to play," Carson coach Ric Garcia said. They're greatly improved from the first time we played them. Coach (Ed) Shepard is working to develop a program and he's doing it the right way - and they're in the playoff hunt."

At the same time, the Senators are still in the hunt for league championship with five games remaining in the regular season, which concludes on Feb. 9 with a showdown at league-leading Reno. Carson hosts Damonte Ranch on Tuesday.

"Damonte Ranch is a team that's been struggling, but they're dangerous," Garcia said. "We're going to have to play well."

Just like those last six minutes Saturday, when the Senators made a switch on defense and then sprinted away from the Hawks.

"We went to a zone defense with six minutes left. That's when we took off. We started getting back and started doing all the things we're supposed to be doing," Garcia said.

The Senators received contributions from various sources. Protecting a slim 31-29 lead, Peacon blocked a shot on the defensive end that led to a Kaitlin Burroughs layup with 5 minutes, 51 seconds showing on the clock. Anna Macquarie converted a pair of free throws. Brandi Vega fed Peacon for a pick and roll layup. Peacon scored again, this time on a putback.

Moments later, a Peacon steal on the defensive end set up Vega for a breakaway layup in which she drew a foul. Vega added the free throw to complete a three-point play that extended Carson's lead to 42-33 with 2:46 left to play.

Vega finished with eight points and five assists while Burroughs chipped in with eight points for the Senators. Macquarie scored five points. Christa Casci added three - on a three-point play after a steal on the defensive end that gave the Senators a 12-9 lead with 3.1 seconds left in the first quarter.

Kaneisha Jones led Hug with 13 points, including one 3-pointer - the only one of the game.

"We weren't very consistent and our outside game was non-existent," Garcia said. "The outside game opens up the inside, so it's important. But a lot of that had to do with the pressure Hug was putting on."

Contact Dave Price at dprice@sierrasun.com or 882-2111, ext. 362.