3A GIRLS: Virgin Valley turns over state semifinal to Lowry

RENO — It’s difficult to win a basketball game if you’re not shooting well.

It’s even more difficult if you aren’t even getting shots.

Virgin Valley’s girls team found that out Friday, as the Bulldogs (11-15) turned the ball over 29 times — 19 in the first half — on the way to a 60-36 loss to Lowry (18-7) in the Class 3A state semifinals at Damonte Ranch High. Lowry plays Spring Creek in the championship game at noon Saturday at Lawlor Events Center. Spring Creek beat Truckee in the other semifinal.

“It was something that we worked against all week in practice because I knew they were pretty much going to be going full-court man-to-man,” Virgin Valley coach Chimane Creer said. “It’s something we definitely worked on. We made poor choices with our passes. And we made some bad choices with our screens.”

Virgin Valley had 25 turnovers in the first three quarters, and managed only 25 shots from the field in the first 24 minutes as Lowry led 48-16 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs looked better offensively in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points and only turning the ball over three times against a Lowry squad of mostly reserves, and the Buckaroos didn’t press in the final period.

“The second half was a lot better,” Creer said. “We played a lot more aggressive in the second half. And if we can play four quarters like that, we’d be in every game.”

To make matters worse for Virgin Valley, 6-foot-3-inch junior center Rachel Morris picked up her third foul with 4:05 to go in the first half, and went to the bench until the 6:42 mark of the third quarter.

Virgin Valley trailed 16-10 when Morris went to the bench, but Lowry had extended the lead to 38-12 when she returned.

“All year long that’s kind of been what’s happened to us,” Creer said of Morris’ foul trouble. “And the other kids have stepped up and played really big. Tonight, I don’t know if nobody wanted to take charge because they felt like they wanted her to do it, but it’s not her responsibility. They all needed to step up.”

Morris finished with 16 points, 10 in the fourth quarter. She also had 11 rebounds and nine blocked shots.

Skylar Estes and Lynnsey Johnson each scored 12 for Lowry.