Lady Lions sublime in victory
BY THOMAS RANSON
Appeal News Service
RENO - The Lady Lions must be feeling like royalty right now.
After all, their main school color dates back to the Romans dressing in purple, a tribute of their royalty and the gods. But in this century, Yerington captured its own Stephanos crown by winning the Class 3A state girls basketball championship for the first time since 1990.
With stingy defense and balanced scoring, the Lions tamed the Truckee Wolverines, 46-30, Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.
"It's our turn, I guess. We took our beatings," Yerington coach Dorsey Tom said. "We've got the girls to do it, the athletes and the talent. The hard work paid off. It's a tribute to the girls. These girls will do whatever you ask and whenever I ask of it."
Kayla Lommori posted a game-high 14 points for the Lions, and Karrie-Ann Quartz added 13. Kiara Ross scored 10 points and LaReina Jim had five.
"Kayla's one of the cornerstones. She has been," Tom said. "Her game's grown leaps and bounds the last two years."
Megan Shalvis led Truckee with eight points and Breanne Busby added seven. Meghan Kotko scored six points.
"We knew anybody in our league could win the state championship. Our league is very tough this year," Truckee coach Angelo Tenorio said. "We had five teams, even six teams that could have easily won. We were beating each other all year long. It was just a matter of who was doing well at the end and who could put together a run. We fell short, but it's very satisfying to see someone from our league win it."
A 7-0 run increased Yerington's 21-20 lead in the third quarter and Jim's 3-pointer gave the Lions a 32-24 lead and momentum into the final quarter. Yerington slowly increased its lead into double digits with five free throws, including a pair from Lommori and Quartz. The Lions, though, shot 16-of-35 from the charity stripe.
"We ran into a dry spell like we did last night, but we got some stops and some big key rebounds, just enough to hold on and win," Tom said. "Truckee played hard. They didn't start so well, but it's a tribute to the coach. The girls played hard all year long and got to this point."
Megan Shalvis scored Truckee's last basket of the season with 3 minutes, 34 seconds left in the game, and Yerington relied on free throws to preserve the second girls' crown of the season. The Lions volleyball team knocked off the Wolverines to win state in the fall.
"I never get tired of that feeling, winning championships," said Lommori, who also played on the volleyball team. "I can't explain how it feels. I can never get tired of this feeling. We wanted to come out strong at the start and rebound."
Yerington, which never trailed, led 8-7 after the first quarter but started the second with a 6-0 run to lead by seven points. Truckee went scoreless for almost six minutes until it scored at the 4:02 mark when Annie Rodriguez uncorked two points.
"You go through those times when the ball doesn't go through. It's a little frustrating," Tenorio said. "You try to stay focused as a coach and help them persevere through those times. It was just one of those games that didn't go our way. It's not from lack of effort. The girls did a great job and I'm real proud of them."
FAITH LUTHERAN BOYS 59, DAYTON 40
Same story, different chapter.
"You can definitely call us a dynasty," Faith Lutheran's Conner Maloney said. "I've been here all four years so you can call us a dynasty."
For the fourth straight year, the Faith Lutheran Crusaders dominated the Dayton Dust Devils, 59-40, Saturday night in the Class 3A state boys championship game at Lawlor Events Center.
"We didn't rebound. They got a ton of offensive balls," Dayton coach T.W. Cunningham said. "They just turned up the pressure a little bit and we didn't handle it well."
Diontea Wright posted a game-high 18 points and Michael Amico added 11 for the Crusaders. Brett Lubbe and Maloney each scored eight points and Max Done had five.
"It comes down to good kids and hard work," Faith Lutheran coach Bret Walter said. "They put in the time and spent time learning the game and played good defense. I hope that's been the backbone. We didn't play good offense and we were able to play good defensively to win."
Tanner Wood was the only Dust Devil to score in double figures as he finished with 15 points. Jerrin Foster scored seven points and Ryan Ransdell and Hans Meyer each added six.
"We'll keep working. We'll be back," Cunningham said. "We'll use it for motivation to work hard and get into the weight room in the summer."
Dayton trailed only by one at halftime, 26-25, despite leading for most of the second quarter. The Dust Devils scored 12 unanswered points after the Crusaders opened the game with a 6-0 run.
Faith Lutheran held Dayton to seven points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth.
"Coach came in at halftime and preached defense to us," said Maloney, a senior who started the last three seasons and was a reserve during his freshman season.
Foul trouble hurt Dayton, especially in the fourth quarter when Byron Trigueros fouled out and Meyer had four fouls.
"That killed us," Cunningham said.
NOTE: The Lowry girls basketball team and Truckee boys won the Class 3A state academic team titles with grade-point averages of 3.70 and 3.61, respectively.