RENO - For 25 minutes, the Carson High girls basketball team gave Reno everything it wanted.
In the final 6 minutes 41 seconds, the basket had a lid on it, however. Carson missed eight straight shots and turned the ball over four times in that span and were outscored 18-3 en route to Tuesday's 46-33 loss in the season-opening 4A game for both schools.
"We got to standing around on offense," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "We didn't get our heads up. We had back cuts that we flat out missed. We also missed a couple of layups.
"The effort was really great. We have to clean some stuff up offensively. Our offense was stagnant. We did a decent job of helping defensively. It was about what I expected for an opening game. We'll get better."
What's frustrating for Ackerman and his squad is that this was a game that Carson really could have won.
The game was tied 10 times. Reno led 26-24 with 2:18 left in the third quarter, but baskets by Mary Longero and Ashley Saarem gave Carson a 28-26 lead after three quarters. Shannon Gough re-tied the game at 28, but Longero scored again to give Carson its last lead of the contest, 30-28.
Reno scored 15 straight points during the next five minutes to grab a 43-30 lead with 1:07 left. Gough had five of her 22 points in that stretch while Katie Hillson scored six of her 10.
Reno coach Shane Foster credited his team's plus-7 edge on the boards as the key to his team's big run down the stretch.
"We rebounded the basketball better, and that allowed us to run the floor," Foster said. "Stephanie (Brockovich) got an easy basket and Hillson got a couple. The first half we got drilled on the boards. We returned the favor in the second half.
"Gough is about the only one on the team that suited up tonight that has played meaningful minutes. We have a lot of players who were playing their first minutes in a varsity game. It's going to take about eight games and we'll be a solid basketball team."
Eliza Matley, Whitney Nash and Emily Collins all scored six points to lead Carson's offense, which shot just 29 percent for the game compared to 35 percent for Reno.
Collins' effort was especially impressive. She was easily the smallest player on the floor, but she scrapped with the bigger girls all night and even pulled down four rebounds.
"Emily did a nice job defensively," Ackerman said. "Mary gave us a little lift in that stretch in the second half. Jazmyn (Stokes) played well; surprisingly well when you consider she didn't play a lot last year. She really scrapped in there."
Collins sparked an 8-2 run to end the opening quarter. Her first bucket sliced Reno's lead to 10-8 and her second knotted the game at 12 after one. Her final bucket of the game was a putback with a minute left to give Carson an 18-16 lead at the half.
The teams played the third quarter dead even, scoring 10 points each. The aforementioned scores by Longero and Saarem gave Carson the lead after three, setting the stage for a disappointing fourth quarter.
Carson returns to action at 6 p.m. next Tuesday at Reed. The Raiders hammered Douglas 68-19 on Tuesday.
RENO 46, CARSON 33
Carson (33) - Stokes 2, McAllister-Daggs 2, Matley 6, Nash 6, Collins 6, A. Saarem 2, Smith 2, Longero 4, Stevens 1, Yamamoto 2. Totals 15 3-9 33.
Reno (46) - Gough 22, Shaw 1, Brockovich 4, McGwire 9, Hillson 10. Totals 17 10-20 46.
JV BOYS
Reno tops CHS in OT
RENO - Reno outscored Carson 6-4 in overtime to escape with a 59-57 win Tuesday night.
Bruce McIntosh sent the game into overtime tied at 53 when he scored with six seconds left in regulation.
Matt Galvan led Carson with 17 points, while McIntosh added 14. Sage Smith contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
FRESHMAN BOYS
Reno beats Carson
Reno edged Carson 42-36 in the season-opener for both schools Tuesday night at Morse Burley Gym.
Garrett Schafer and Andy Cooper were the leading scorers for Carson with seven and six points, respectively. Kyle Denning and Austin Shaffer led Carson rebounders with four apiece.