Lady Wave set sights on Lowry

It may be the series to determine the league title.

Fallon and defending state champion Lowry meet Saturday in a Northern Division I-A showdown at the Elmo Dericco Gym.

Before the Lady Wave (3-1 league, 6-6 overall) can test its skills against one of the state’s best, Fallon visits Dayton (0-5, 1-10) at 6 p.m. today.

Fallon is coming off a 56-34 win at Fernley on Tuesday and has won two of its last three games. Dayton, meanwhile, has struggled all season, although the Dust Devils are led by Angela Sikora, who leads the Northern DI-A in scoring at 16.3 points per game and adds 3.6 rebounds.

Dayton’s next highest scorer is Christina Ricci, who comes in averaging 3.0 ppg and 1.4 rebounds. The Dust Devils average just 24.5 points per game, allows 54.1 and are in the midst of a seven-game losing skid including a 68-47 loss to South Tahoe on Tuesday.

“I don’t know that we are going to change anything for Dayton,” Smith said. “I think we just play tough defense on her (Sikora).”

Fallon, meanwhile, is rolling offensively led by senior guard Ali Tedford, junior forward Megan McCormick and the emergence of senior guard Maggie O’Flaherty.

Tedford shredded Fernley for 21 points, seven rebounds and seven steals, while McCormick added 11 and O’Flaherty tallied nine.

The trio, plus the presence of junior forward Madison Perazzo, will be key in navigating through a tough Buckaroos squad.

Expecting a combination of defenses, Smith said McCormick, O’Flaherty and Perazzo must be on their game to take pressure off Tedford. As for Tedford, Smith said she anticipates Lowry to focus on the all-state guard, who is making a strong statement for player of the year.

“The transition offense is very helpful in keeping everyone going,” Smith said. “We’re not stagnant. With a team like Lowry … it will pose a little bit of problem. Getting a minute or two break for some of those starters will be important to stay fresh.”

As for Lowry, who thumped Sparks, 62-26 on Tuesday, the Buckaroos spread around the offensive production.

Alyssa Dendary leads the team in scoring at 8.6 points per game followed by Jasmine Marchand (5.9), Kylee Mcclellan (5.2) and Jillian Albright (5.0).

On the boards, Fallon must contend with Marchand, who averages five per game and Payton Naveran, who leads the team with 6.2.

“We are focusing more on what we need to do fundamentally to put ourselves in a place to win,” Smith said. “We have to look in the mirror before we can look out the window.”

The game, though, has big implications for the league crown. Fallon, whose only loss is a controversial one to Elko because of the refereeing, would be in position to move into the top two in the league with a rematch with Elko at home looming.

A loss would make for a tough hill to climb to reach the No. 1 spot. Nevertheless, Smith and company is focused on Dayton and ready for the Buckaroos.

“Our most important game is our next one,” she added.

Lady Wave rolls past Vaqueros

The Fallon girls basketball team drilled rival Fernley, 56-34, on Tuesday.

Fallon raced out to a 16-6 first-quarter lead and was spearheaded by an aggressive full-court press defense.

The Lady Wave recorded 19 steals leading to many easy transition baskets.

“I though our full-court press … especially with Tedford, (Zoey) Swisher and (Janelica) Galera sparked our press,” Smith said.