GIRLS BASKETBALL: Dust Devils take sloppy win without floor leader

DAYTON - Life hasn't been the same without senior point guard Ariella Ruybal, but the Dayton girls' basketball team is sure trying to make it work.

The Dust Devils grabbed a 41-30 win over Fernley on Wednesday in their second game without Ruybal, who is out with a knee injury, but they had to overcome stretches of sloppiness on offense to pull through.

Luckily, they had the speedy Erika Garcia.

Garcia sparked the team on both ends of the court with five steals that led to 10 points as she regularly burned the Vaqueros to the rim.

"That's actually my goal this year - steals," the junior said. "I'm not a 3-point shooter or a shooter really. I'm more of a breakaway type of player."

She averages six steals a game, but on Wednesday she was able to take advantage of her speed and lead the Dust Devils with 16 points.

Garcia had 10 points in the first quarter, went scoreless in the second as Dayton failed to score for 7 minutes, 57 seconds in the quarter. It was saved from a goose egg by Kathy Arias' three just seconds before the halftime buzzer.

"We need to play four good quarters instead of three," Dayton coach Shari Andreasen said. "That's what happened at Lovelock."

The Dust Devils were outscored 15-2 in the first quarter on Monday by Lovelock in their first game without Ruybal. And even though they lost that game, they didn't get outscored again in the final three quarters.

Arias added 15 points for the Dust Devils.

Getting a win over 0-8 Fernley is one thing, but the Dust Devils (1-0 Northern 3A, 2-7) will need some other players to step up while they deal with life without Ruybal, who is expected to return at some point but it is unknown when.

"I was a little afraid at the practice that Ruybal got hurt," Garcia said. "But Aundria (Pluck) got hurt last year and we got through it. One player out doesn't mean that we have to freak out."