Building trust

The Carson High School girls basketball team is hoping to find more success this winter under new coach Steven Nichols.

Nichols, who coached the Dayton High girls basketball team last season, takes over for Todd Ackerman, who stepped away after two years in his second stint with the program.

First and foremost, Nichols wants to build trust and belief in his players.

Nichols was a frequent attendee of Senator games last season and said he was a fan of players on the team before he took over as head coach.

“I’m the type that I want to do something about it,” said Nichols. “I wanted the job really bad. … I’ve been a huge fan for many, many years. All my kids went to school here … and I want to be part of the turnaround.”

Last season, Carson went 1-19 overall and 0-16 in Class 5A North league play.

Now, the Senators will compete in Class 4A, which is now the largest classification in basketball in Northern Nevada.

The rest of the Northern Class 4A will feature the same eight teams that competed against the Senators a season ago.

Continuing to get better

Carson only graduated one senior from last year’s squad and only has one senior on the roster this season.

Nichols views that as a luxury as the core of his team will have another year to grow together.

The coach is coming with a new offense – a read and react motion offense.

“We’re going to play fast. We’re going to use the speed that we have to be successful,” said Nichols. “We’re throwing a lot at them because we don’t have a lot of seniors on the team. … It takes a long time to learn.”

Carson has played in several scrimmages so far and opened the regular season earlier this week with a 60-44 loss to South Tahoe.

Thursday night, the Senators bested Portola (CA), 32-20, to get their first win. 

Leading the way for Carson will be junior Lauren Finnerty, who was a second team all-league selection after averaging 15 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Finnerty will be a staple in the lineup and showcased her defensive prowess plenty a year ago with 2.7 steals per game as well as 1.4 blocks.

Finnerty also was named team captain, alongside fellow junior Clarissa Quintana.

Quintana averaged three points and three rebounds a year ago.

“She’s fast, she can jump, she plays hard,” said Nichols of Quintana. “She has all the ability.”

Ana Cazares and Dahlia Keating-McEllistrem are back after playing significant minutes as sophomores last winter.

Alondra Carillo, Lillian Turner, Makayla Rabideau and Ashley Waiksnoris also return after playing soccer this fall, and senior Tarrah Borrowman and junior Kiele Franco are back on the roster.

One new piece for Carson will be freshman Emjae Salanoa.

“She’s awesome. She is everything we want this program to be,” said Nichols of Salanoa. “We’ve got some players and we are deep.”

(Clarissa Quintana takes the ball to the paint against Fallon last season. Quintana, a junior, was named one of the team captains. / Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage)

Coaching staff

Nathan Tolbert rejoins the staff as an assistant after previously serving as the Senators’ head coach from 2012 to 2015.

Alongside Tolbert will be fellow assistants Kevin Weaver and Danielle Mitchell, who was an assistant last season.

As far as coaching philosophy, Nichols prefers a less direct approach.

“I prefer to stand back and watch. It helps me make decisions better for the team,” said Nichols. “(Tolbert) does most of the coaching.”

The new staff is looking to build trust within the team and Nichols hopes the team sees itself the way he does.

“I think the season is going to go great. We are going to win some games,” said Nichols. “We’re not looking to next year, but we’re looking to next year. … We know we have a good chance of going deep in the playoffs and possibly to state next year.”

The Senators next five games this season will be on the road, meaning Carson won’t open in front of a home crowd until Dec. 14 against Spanish Springs.