By LARRY BARKER
Nevada Appeal News Service
FALLON " In close games, mistakes of the losing team are often a deciding factor.
Such was the case in Fallon on Saturday. The Lady Wave took advantage of a mental mistake by Carson to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation, then outlasted the Senators in overtime for a thrilling 60-58 Sierra League win.
It was a close game all the way. Neither team ever led by more than five points as they played nip-and-tuck all afternoon. The score was tied several times and there were several lead changes. Carson erased an early 9-4 Fallon lead to take a 26-22 advantage into halftime. Fallon closed the gap to 35-33 at the end of the third quarter before Carson built its biggest lead, 39-34 early in the final stanza. Fallon fought back to tie the game, and stayed close down the stretch, with neither team leading by more than four points the rest of the way.
With 9.9 seconds left to play the game, Carson senior guard Brandi Vega sank two free throws to put the Senators ahead, 51-49. As the Greenwave's Kenya Brown looked to inbound the ball, nobody from Fallon came back at first to take the inbounds pass. Carly Martin finally came back to halfcourt and Brown lobbed the ball her way but threw it over Martin's head. With the loose ball on its way out of bounds at the corner of the other end of the court and nobody from Fallon close to it, all Carson had to do was let it go out to regain possession.
Instead, the Senators' Krista Mattice chased the loose ball and tried, unsuccessfully, to save it. Given the reprieve, Fallon worked the ball to Sara Parsons, who hit a jump shot with one second left to send the game into overtime.
Kelsey Hiatt and Alex Faught scored all of the Greenwave's points in overtime. Hiatt hit a pair of short jump shots and sank one free throw white Faught scored one basket and hit a pair free throws.
Carson's Cassie Vondrak and Vega were the game's high scores with 17 points each. Vega knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and sank 10-of-11 free throws in the second half, including two in overtime. Vondrak scored all her points on close, inside shots and make 4-of-7 free throws.
Parsons scored 14 points to lead the Lady Wave, which won its second consecutive game and improved to 4-2 in Sierra League play and 9-8 overall. Carson dropped to 3-3 in league play and 9-11 overall.
Carson hosts Douglas Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.