BY JUSTIN LAWSON
Special to the Nevada Appeal
The Carson Senators girls basketball team knew points were going to be hard to come by just minutes into their 63-35 loss Saturday to Del Oro (Calif.) at Carson Valley Middle School.
Carson (now 7-8) won the tip, but the Eagles' defense showed its might from the onset as it didn't allow the Senators to get the ball in past the three-point line.
Del Oro's pressure was the biggest constant as it led to an eye-popping 35 turnovers. The Senators struggled to contend with Del Oro's (11-0) man-on-man defense and full-court pressure.
"We were just keeping our heads down and not looking up for our players," Carson guard Elayna Shine said. "Just, we weren't thinking ahead and that killed us."
Del Oro ended Carson's trouble of getting the ball in down low when Belle Obert stole the opening possession and ran it up court for a fast-break layup.
Carson put up just five points in the first quarter as it trailed 18-5 and was in the midst of what would be a 4 minute, 33 second field goal drought.
"They're a good basketball team," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "He's (Del Oro coach Mike Takayama) got some girls that have been with him for a while and they do some great things. They're taught very well."
The Eagles' two captains, Courtney Nolen and Samantha Hodge, led all scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Del Oro, which brought 16 players on the road, was also able to rotate players in and out to keep Carson, which only had 11 players, on its heels.
Every time Del Oro rotated a player out the pressure didn't cease, or even miss a beat, as it continued to ratchet it up until late in the fourth quarter when the third team came on the floor.
"Everyone's been giving a lot of pressure and we've seen pressure every game," Shine said. "(We need) to work on our ball handling " a lot."
When Carson was able to get past the pressure and put up a shot, they weren't falling. On back-to-back possessions in the second quarter the Senators had wide open three-point shots rim out. Carson could trailed 30-15 with 1:45 remaining in the half.
Breanna Anderson and Gina Bianchi each had seven points to lead the Senators in scoring. Carson will now turn its attention to Sierra League play as it is set to host Wooster on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.
"I don't mind the Del Oros, they just show our weaknesses," Ackerman said. "But it's kind of nice to get in (to league). We've got 13 games left and like I just told the seniors, everything now is for real and it's going to go by fast."