Carson High girls basketball
Carson Senator Kayce Johnston shoots for three against Reed High Thursday night. Johnston finished with 12 points in the Senators' win.
Photo by Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage.
Not falling behind early has become a big emphasis for the Carson High girls’ basketball team in the season’s early going.
Thursday night there were no such worries as the Senators jumped out to a 10-1 lead before toppling Reed, 48-37.
Carson’s shooting from beyond the arc helped the Senators establish an early confidence level as Kayce Johnston hit two 3-pointers from the wing.
Johnston’s second triple put the Senators in front 13-4 late in the first quarter.
Reed managed to trim the deficit to three, 17-14, early in the second quarter, but a 12-4 run to close out the half put the Senators in the driver’s seat.
“It was amazing cause everyone was just feeling it,” said Johnston. “Everyone was hyped and it feels better to get out with a win then to sit there losing already.”
In the first half, the Senators were able to knock down four triples.
Carson picked up right where it left off in the third quarter, holding the Raiders to four points and just a single made basket.
“Talking in our press, … I think working together and talking a lot helped out on defense,” said Johnston.
Lauren Finnerty had another quality night on the hardwood putting together a spinning layup in the paint to give the Senators a 36-18 edge.
On Carson’s next trip down the floor, Finnerty stopped for a pump fake, drawing her defender off of her feet.
From there it was a simple drive to the basket for the freshman forward, who deposited a layup for two more of her 12 points on the night.
Johnston ended the game with 12 points of her own.
Reese Mackenzie was a consistent presence on both ends of the floor for Carson, putting together nine points and helping dictate the offensive sets.
Alayna Godinez added six more for Carson.
“We were all super hyped,” said Johnston. “We needed a win to boost our confidence. … We need to keep shooting. We need to work on our passing, but in the future I think we will get better and start beating more of these teams.”
UP NEXT: Carson (2-8, 1-5 in league play) will get the weekend off before returning to action Tuesday against McQueen (8-4, 1-3) in Carson.
Thursday night girls’ area scores
Bishop Manogue 70, Douglas 44
Damonte Ranch 44, Reno 35
Damonte Ranch tops Carson Tuesday
After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, Carson High girls’ basketball could’ve rolled over.
Instead, the Senators fought back to a 40-27 loss, cutting the deficit to as few as seven points in the third quarter.
Alayna Godinez got the Senators started with all six points to close out the opening quarter for Carson.
The Senators then scored seven of the next 10 points behind layups from Lauren Finnerty and Kayce Johnston.
Godinez ended the night with a team-high nine points while Finnerty put together eight more for the Senators.
Carson trailed by 12 points just out of the halftime intermission, 26-14, before piecing together a quick 5-0 run to bring the gap to seven.
Johnston’s second bucket made it 26-19 Damonte Ranch, but the Mustangs rallied with a 6-2 run to close the quarter, extending their lead back to double digits.
Reese Mackenzie added four points for Carson in the loss while Dariana Pineda also was credited with a bucket.
