Fallon girls off to best start in five seasons

When one streak ends, another begins.

After losing only its second game of the month two weeks ago, which snapped a five-game winning streak, the Greenwave girls basketball team won three straight to capture the silver bracket of the Gator Winter Classic in Henderson before sweeping a pair of Elko County schools last weekend.

Fallon (14-3, 2-0 3A East), which is off to its best start since it won the state title during the 2018-2019 season, travels to two-time defending state champion Lowry on Friday for a battle between unbeatens after the Buckaroos swept Elko and Spring Creek last week.

Since a Dec. 9 loss to North Valleys, fifth-year coach Kevin Wickware’s cagers have won 10 of their last 11 games, including wins over 4A North schools Reed and Carson as well as Virgin Valley from the south.

In the 11^th annual Gator Winter Classic, Fallon finished 4-1, with its only blemish a 59-34 setback to Needles. Fallon defeated Carson, 55-33, on Dec. 30 to set up a bracket championship battle with Virgin Valley of the 3A. The Lady Wave won, 35-31.

“It was a big step forward in the right direction for us,” said Wickware, who has eight underclassmen on the team. “We started the rebuilding process last year and we’re setting our foundation. We’re still young.”

Wickware said the team improved playing against different types of defenses during the tournament and was proud of the team’s resiliency with five games in four days between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“We press 32 minutes a game and we did it for all five games. Their tenacity is off the charts. They don't stop,” he added. “They go 100 percent from tipoff to end of buzzer. It’s fun to watch them do what they do best.”

BACK AT HOME

Fallon returned to the Elmo Dericco Gymnasium for the first time in almost a month, beating Elko and Spring Creek by double digits. The Lady Wave dropped Elko, 55-36, on Friday before exploding past Spring Creek, 49-24, on Saturday.

While the team is committing more turnovers than Wickware would like to see, Fallon is starting to see its defense and pressure make a difference. He said the group is still adjusting to the speed of the game when transitioning from defense to offense.

“We’re still maintaining a lot of defensive deflections and steals, which is balancing out those turnovers,” he added. “It’s just learning that you can play fast with patience. They can still play fast and in control. In defense, you can play fast but get someone out of control.”

In the Elko win, Wickware said many players stepped up, adding that the team bench is deep and anyone can come off and contribute.

“We got the result we were hoping for. We had a lot of kids step up for us and that made a big difference,” Wickware said. “If we have a girl struggling or whatever the case may be, we have confidence in the bench to fill that void. We have so many weapons that they complement each other well. It makes it fun subbing.”

Seven players scored against Elko, with senior Zoey Jarrett leading the team with 17 points and sophomore Jada Anastasio added 12 as both shot 50 percent from the floor and recorded four steals. Senior Jessalyn Lewis led the team in rebounds with seven and sophomore Dylan Faught added six. Junior Vernita Fillmore and Jarrett each had five boards.

In the Spring Creek win, Wickware started the same lineup, which has been rare this season.

“It’s safe to say that I very rarely run the same starting lineup,” he said. “We can run a lineup against the team we feel matches up the best. I don't think I've done it more than two games in a row. We’ve run some different ones almost every game.”

Anastasio led the team with 25 points and six steals, freshman Raegan Johnson added six and five rebounds, and freshman Karlie Simper had five points and six steals. Jarrett also had five rebounds.

“Our girls were wiped out on Saturday,” Wickware said of the Spring Creek game, which was low-scoring in the first half. The reason we came out with the win was because of the depth of our bench. We went 13 deep again. That’s what allows us to get through back-to-back games.”

NEXT UP: LEAGUE’S BEST

And Wickware’s hope is that the experience thus far and the deep bench will help the team navigate through the next two games against last year’s state finalists. Fallon travels to Lowry on Friday before heading to Fernley the following week.

“The 3A is probably one of the more competitive leagues in Nevada,” Wickware said. “You have some really good teams. We’re coming into our own, finding our path. It’s a very competitive top-to-bottom league.”

Wickware is looking forward to facing the defending state champion to see where the Lady Wave stack up against one of the league’s best, which features a stacked senior class led by player of the year Savannah Stoker.

“It should be another good gauge to see where we’re at and if we can contain the top two players in Northern Nevada,” he said. “Lowry is always well-coached. They bring a defensive game. It’s going to be a good test. Win or lose, I hope we learn a lot from this game. I just want to see us battle with one of the best teams in the last couple of years and have a strong game.”