ELKO — The Elko girls basketball team outscored Lowry 41-35 across the second, third and fourth quarters on Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, the Lady Indians were absolutely decimated in the first quarter by a tally of 19-2 in a 56-43 loss.
The Lady Buckaroos scored each of the first two possessions, senior Sydnee Pettis sticking a three and junior Savannah Stoker grabbing an offensive board for a put-back.
Elko struggled with Lowry’s on-ball pressure in the early going, turning the ball over on numerous occasions.
Stoker opened a 7-0 lead in transition on a feed from sophomore Britain Backus, and a jumper by senior Kailey Franklin opened a 9-0 advantage at the midway point of the period — Elko taking a timeout at the 3:59 mark.
Stoker tracked down an errant pass in the backcourt for a layup, and the Lady Indians gave the ball away with and over-and-back.
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The Lady Bucks went up 13-0 on a bank by junior Bryce Brinkerhoff, and Elko finally found the board at the 2:11 mark on a pair of free throws by senior Aurora Eklund — who was fouled after an offensive rebound.
But, Lowry gained two freebie by Backus — who scored on the break on a steal and outlet from Stoker.
Just before the buzzer, Stoker dribbled across the lane and dropped a left-handed hook — giving her eight points in the opening frame.
The Lady Bucks led big going to the second by a score of 19-2, Elko finishing the first quarter without a field goal.
From another steal, Stoker went the length of the floor and scored in the middle — giving her double digits.
Senior Isabela Torres gave the Lady Indians their first field goal with an offensive out-back at the 5:25 mark, and Eklund added two free throws as Elko reached the double bonus.
Stoker grabbed another offensive rebound and posted a finish over a crowd, but junior Bryleigh Cervantes outran the defense and scored for Elko on the other side.
The Lady Bucks went up 26-8 on a corner three from Pettis — her second — but Cervantes pulled down a rebound and finished through a foul — adding the free throw for an old-fashioned three,
Eklund’s fifth free throw made the score 26-12, but Stoker yanked down a board and cashed two shots at the stripe for Lowry — adding another deuce with a spinning bank off the window.
At the buzzer, senior Peyton Jacaway came down with a rebound and beat the clock.
By halftime, Lowry was in full control with the score at 32-14 — Stoker scoring half of the Lady Bucks’ points and outscoring Elko 16-14.
Opening the third, Elko brought the margin down to 12 with a pair of threes by Eklund — Stoker stemming the 6-0 streak with a baseline jumper off the bounce.
But, Torres notched her second field goal on the right block and made the score 34-22.
The Lady Indians came to within 10 on a steal and layup on the left edge by senior Alysia Madigan, but Stoker put in more work of the offensive glass and reached 20 points.
Eklund made a strong drive down the right side and trimmed the gap back to 10, but Stoker made plays on both ends of the floor — stealing the ball and pushing ahead to Backus for a layup and scoring a deuce of her own in the post with her left hand for a 40-26 advantage.
The Lady Indians inched nearer with a bank on the right block by Torres on a dish from Jacaway but missed a pair of free throws.
Closing the frame, Stoker swatted an Elko offering — grabbing the loose ball out of the air and driving down the floor for a pull-up J.
Going to the fourth, the Lady Indians led Stoker 28-24 but trailed Lowry 42-28.
Backus drained a trey from the left wing, but the Lady Indians gained a free throw from Madigan and a deuce by Torres on a find by Jacaway — making the score 45-31.
A take down the right side by Backus opened a 16-point lead, Torres following a free throw for Elko.
Eklund made a steal and passed ahead to Madigan for a layup, and Cervantes knocked down a contested runner on the left side of the lane — making the score 47-36.
With 3:06 on the clock, Eklund was fouled and drained both shots — slicing the gap to single digits.
Jacaway forced a turnover on a tie-up, but the Lady Indians missed two free throws — regaining possession after a number of offensive boards.
Torres sank one of two at the line, and Cervantes made a steal — taking a bump and finishing through contact on the right edge.
With 2:11 on the clock, the Lady Indians were back to within six at 47-41.
Elko forced and over-and-back with 1:49 remaining but gave the ball right back and fouled Backus, who made on free throw.
On an inbound pass, junior Autum Sanchez drove the right side and made a layup — Elko following with a miss and allowing an open run to the rim for Franklin.
Down 52-41, the Lady Indians gave up at least three offensive rebounds from a missed throw — Stoker cleaning up the mess in the middle.
With 20.2 ticks remaining, sophomore Lindsey Johns made a free throw for Elko — which gave Franklin a bunny on the other end.
Jacaway hit a late free throw, but Elko lost by 13 with the score at 56-43.
Stoker dropped a game-high 28 points and was joined in double digits by 12 points from Backus, Franklin nearing double figures with eight points.
Elko was paced by 15 points from Eklund, Torres also reaching double digits with 10 points — Cervantes inching toward double figures with nine points.
Lowry’s offense was capped by six points on two 3s for Pettis and a deuce by Sanchez.
The offense for the Lady Indians was rounded out with five points from Madigan, three by Jacaway and a free throw for Johns.
Up Next
The Lady Indians will resume 3A North-East action on the road, tipping off the second half of the league slate at 6 p.m. Friday, in Dayton.
