Fallon’s Brynlee Nichols (5) fights for the ball in a swarm of Fernley players Monday night. The Lady Wave defeated Wooster, 65-23.
The Lady Wave breezed to an easy win over Wooster Monday night to set up the second step of the Northern 3A playoffs Friday night against Lowry.
After manhandling the Colts, 65-23 at the Elmo Dericco Gym, Fallon, the top team from the Eastern Division, faces a familiar foe in Lowry, which comes into the playoffs as the No. 3 team from the East of the Northern 3A. Lowry upstaged the No. 2 team from the West on Monday night, 45-38.
During the regular season, Fallon and Lowry split, winning on the opponent’s court. On Jan 10 in Fallon, Lowry defeated the Wave, 54-49, but in Winnemucca on Jan. 31, the Wave stopped the Lady Bucks, 47-36.
Fallon finished 9-1 in league and is 21-6 overall, while Lowry finished third in conference play at 7-3 and 15-7 overall. Tip-off time on Friday at the Fernley gym is at 3 p.m. The winner plays the Fernley-North Valleys winner at noon on Saturday. The top two teams are headed to next week’s state tournament in Las Vegas.
Fallon needs a strong quarter against Lowry if the Wave expects to be in the championship game. The Wave came out on fire against Wooster, outscoring the Colts 20-4. Amillya Bishop discovered her range by draining two long treys and adding a pair of free throws and a field goal for Fallon, while Khloe Glover, Wooster’s lone threat, responded with four points.
“We didn’t want to look ahead to anybody,” said coach Kevin Wickware. “We had some business to do. One of the biggest things we focused was boxing out.”
The boxing out worked for 90% of the game as the Wave limited Wooster’s shooting to one shot.
Bishop’s hot hand in shooting for distance didn’t cool off in the second quarter She launched two 3-pointers and sunk a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Wickware said Bishop didn’t let Wooster’s defense bother her.
Amillya Bishop (32) attempts a free throw against Wooster. The Fallon senior paced Fallon to a 65-23 win Monday night.
“With her shooting from outside, she showed up for us and made the big shots,” he added.
Fallon slowly padded its lead in the second quarter. Kortnie Simper scored on a little jumper. Wooster’s Amabel Lewis showed a little spark when she wiggled free for an under hand put back from the left side.
With time running out in the first half, Wooster’s last second desperation shot bounced off the rim.
Fallon kept the pressure on Wooster, outscoring the Colts 21-9. Glover accounted for all the Colts’ points.
After Glover opened the third quarter with a long 3-opinter, Fallon answered with a basket from Vernita Fillmore, and after Wooster missed on its next possession, Simper had a put back after Megan Johnson’s missed basket.
The Wave gradually pulled away by a wider margin as the third quarter progressed.
While the defense focused on Gilmore, the offense relied on Gilmore, Bishop and Karlie Simper.
With 2 minutes remaining in the quarter, Kortnie Simper scored on a layup, and her sister Karlie’s turnaround jumper pushed the Wave to a 56-18 lead.
With a running clock in the final quarter and the Wave liberally substituting, Fallon outscored Wooster, 7-5, with baskets from Meagan and Raegan Johnson and Kylee Simper.
Fallon scoring — Bishop, 23; Kortnie Simper, 12; Karlie Simper, 10; Megan Johnson and Brynlee Nichols, 5; Kylee Simper and Fillmore, 4; Raegan Johnson, 2.