Fallon guard Gabby Sharpe pulls up during the Lady Wave's 41-24 win over Truckee on Friday.
The shots just didn’t fall.
A cold night inside the gym for the Truckee girls basketball team gave Fallon a 41-24 Northern Division I-A victory on Friday.
Fallon, meanwhile, took advantage of Truckee’s inability to score and raced out to an 11-3 first quarter lead. Guard Ali Tedford ignited the Lady Wave’s efficient offense as the junior scored six points, while Gabby Sharpe and Megan McCormick also each scored six.
“We talked a lot about our energy, our focus and finishing,” Fallon coach Anne Smith said. “We couldn’t overlook Truckee.”
After Truckee’s rough first quarter, the Wolverines’ Kaylee Neill heated up and buried a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter.
Fallon, though, outscored the Wolverines 14-8 in the period to stretch the lead to 25-11 at halftime. Fallon mixed up its defense using a 1-3-1 zone and man-to-man sets.
“We didn’t run that defense (1-3-1) up there (at Truckee),” Fallon coach Anne Smith said. “They set four high and cut to the basket. That was one of our weak spots to try and shut that down. It was very effective.”
Both clubs struggled mightily in the third quarter as each team scored just five points.
Hannah Lindsay iced the game with four consecutive points to open the fourth quarter. She tallied seven points and 11 rebounds, while Tedford had a game-high 12 points and nine rebounds.
Truckee’s shooting woes continued in the fourth quarter and were unable to recover. Neill led the Wolverines with 10 points including a pair of 3s.
Truckee, though, managed only 10 field goals for the game.
“We have hot games and cold games,” Truckee coach Dave Shalvis said. “This was a cold game. They put on a better effort in the second half and closed the gap a little bit.”
The win keeps Fallon in the race for the Northern DI-A league title, while Truckee, who also lost to Lowry on Saturday, is in fifth place. Fallon (9-3 league, 12-9 overall) is tied for third with Lowry, and the Wolverines behind at 6-6 in league, 6-12 overall.
Fallon visits Dayton at 6 p.m. Friday and hosts Lowry at 2 p.m. Saturday. Truckee, meanwhile, travels to second-place Spring Creek (10-2) and first-place Elko (10-1) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Northern DI-A regional tournament is Feb. 21-22 at Elko.