The opportunities were there, but the Carson High girls weren't able to take advantage of them.
The Senators, thanks to the offensive efforts of Gina Bianchi and Cassie Vondrak, chopped a double-digit lead down to one before falling to Wooster, 57-55, Friday night at Morse Burley Gym.
Carson and Wooster are now tied for the bottom spot in the Sierra League with 1-4 records. Carson is in action today at North Valleys.
"We came off such an emotional game on Monday (against Douglas), and we never got that same intensity back," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "They knew they needed to.
"We played hard, and that's all I can ask. We had some opportunities, but we could never get over the hump."
Twice Carson cut the lead to one in the fourth quarter and once cut it to a basket.
Baskets by Yvonne Hollett, Vondrak (14 points) and Elayna Shine trimmed the Senators' deficit to 46-45 with 5:51 left in the game. April Harden drained a flat-footed 3-pointer to ignite a 6-0 run and give the Colts a 53-45 lead at the 4:16 mark.
Vondrak, who scored 12 of her 14 in the second half, scored in the key to make it 53-47. Gina Bianchi (22 points) had a chance to cut into the lead even further, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 situation. Wooster was unable to convert on its next possession, and Christy Works made it 52-49 with 2:42 remaining.
Vondrak made it 54-51, and then Works got a steal and lay-up to make it 54-53. She was unable to complete the three-point play, however. Harden got the lead back up to two with 1:03 left with a single free throw.
Carson's chance to tie went awry when Hollett let Vondrak's pass slip through her hands and out of bounds with 55.9 remaining. Carson's pressure forced a held-ball situation, and the possession arrow favored the Senators. Hollett misfired with 21 seconds left.
Wooster's Briahna Hendrix put the game out of reach with 10.6 seconds left.
Playing from behind the entire game, which Carson did, is tough. You expend so much energy you don't have enough to get a couple of stops or make a couple of shots at the end when you need them.
The Senators fell behind by 10 early, 16-6, and that seemed to set the tone. The Senators relied heavily on Bianchi in the first half, and she didn't disappoint, scoring 14 of her game-high 22 to keep the Senators close at 29-23.
Ackerman doesn't think that the rest of the team is relying too heavily on their leading scorer.
"We got some good shots, but we couldn't get anything to fall," Ackerman said. "Other girls stepped up and took open shots."
Wooster stretched the lead to 34-23 on three free throws by Sheila Christy (15 points) and a putback by Ayden Finau, who tracked down an offensive rebound and scored on a putback. Finau finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds, and was only slowed down by her own foul troubles.
A 10-5 run by the Colts upped the lead to 44-34 late in the quarter, but Hollett responded with a 3-pointer and Bianchi scored on a drive to the hoop to cut the lead to 44-39 after three.
CHS JVS 48, WOOSTER 31
Whitney Nash played an outstanding defensive game and had 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals for Carson (9-5, 3-3). Sarah Anderson had four rebounds and three steals, Katie McFarren had three rebounds and two steals and Elysse Virden added four rebounds as nine of 10 players scored for Carson.