Fallon slips past Wolverines

TRUCKEE — The visiting Fallon girls started slowly but warmed up in the middle quarters to earn a 48-41 win over Truckee on Friday.

The game seemed destined for a close finish after the teams swapped leads on three occasions in the opening quarter, with the Wolverines jumping ahead 9-6 after a steal by Sydney Mock and fast-break assist to Marcelle Reynaud.

Fallon scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 10-9 lead. Truckee senior Kaylee Neill opened the second quarter by draining the first of her three 3-pointers in the game, giving the Wolverines a 12-10 lead.

It was short-lived, however, as Ali Tedford drove in for a layup and Gabby Sharpe hit a 3 to put the Greenwave up for the duration. Fallon used its size advantage in the post and tight man-to-man defense to stretch its margin to 26-19 by the half.

Sharpe made sure the Greenwave maintained their lead after the break. The senior began the third quarter with consecutive buckets from mid range and scored nine of her 12 points in the quarter, including a 3-pointer immediately after Neill cut the lead to 39-31 with her second 3 of the period.

Mock ended the quarter with a drive and finish in traffic as Fallon carried a 42-33 advantage into the fourth. Mock also impressed the home crowd early in the second half with a nifty spin move around a Fallon forward before converting a layup on a fast break.

Fallon pulled ahead by as many as 13 points early in the fourth, following back-to-back scores by Hannah Lindsay and Shelby Smith, but Mock and Neill answered with a pair of free throws and a slashing drive to cut the deficit back to nine.

The Wolverines could not close the gap in the final minutes as the Greenwave patiently passed the ball around the perimeter to eat clock and Truckee did not foul.

Tedford scored a game-high 16 points to lead Fallon, while Sharpe scored 12 and Lindsay nine. Neill led the Wolverines with 14 points. Mock added 12 points, Anais Fay had eight and Reynaud four.

Fallon, which dropped a nonleague game at Douglas on Saturday, is 2-1 in league and 4-7 overall. Truckee, which lost by a nearly identical score, 48-40, at Lowry on Saturday, is 2-2 in league and 2-7 overall.