4A GIRLS: Reed cashes in on state experience, downs Foothill

RENO — Foothill’s girls basketball team was making its first appearance at the state tournament Thursday night. And for the first few minutes, the Falcons looked out of their element.

That was all Reed needed.

The Raiders scored the first eight points and never trailed in a 59-45 win over the Falcons in a Class 4A state semifinal at Lawlor Events Center.

“We talked about that before the game,” Foothill coach Mike Collins said. “It’s still just another basketball game, and over the last year, they’ve had 100 of them. It’s just a matter of getting out there and get to work.”

Reed (22-2) will meet Reno (27-5) for the state title at 6 p.m. today.

Reed, which played in the state semifinals last season, took the lead for good on Nyasha LeSure’s baby hook shot 66 seconds into the game.

The Falcons looked nervous from the start, and though they pulled within 12-8 late in the first quarter, never got over the hump.

“My girls knew what they were coming into,” Reed coach Sara Schopper said. “A new team that’s never been here before, I can see how the environment is overwhelming.”

Reed used a 14-4 run to close the first half with a 32-17 lead. The Falcons never got closer than seven points in the second half.

Foothill (20-6) made only 18 of 65 shots from the field and committed 20 turnovers.

“We have to make shots,” Collins said.

And the Falcons had few answers for LeSure, a 6-foot-1-inch post who will play at UNR next season.

She finished with 19 points, and teammate Gabby Williams, a 5-11 sophomore point guard, had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

“They outsized us, at times on the court, 3 inches at every position,” Collins said. “They’re a good team. We lost to a good team.”

Tyler Sumpter had 15 points and Sierra Hooft 10 as four players combined to score all of Reed’s points.

Julie Harless paced Foothill with 11 points, and teammate Christina Nash scored 10. Bri Higgins had nine points and 10 rebounds, and Tanji Ajeto added eight points and 10 rebounds.

“If we had it to do over again, we wouldn’t change anything,” Collins said. “We’d just want to make more shots.”