LADY WOLVES: Stellar defense can’t save Las Vegas in title game

The result wasn’t what Las Vegas High girls basketball coach Jen Brown had hoped for on Wednesday.

The effort, though, was far better than the Wildcats had shown in some early games this season and gave Las Vegas plenty of reason for optimism once the team returns to Northeast League play.

The Wildcats played arguably their best defensive game of the season but fell to San Clemente (Calif.) 47-36 in the championship game of the Lady Wolves Holiday Classic at Basic.

“This was huge for our growth as a team,” Brown said. “We needed to start to come together, and we saw that today.”

The Tritons averaged 67.3 points per game in their first three games of the tournament and had scored more than 60 points in all three.

But Las Vegas (6-4) changed its defense, opting away from its usual 2-3 zone set and playing more man-to-man. There was no arguing with the results.

San Clemente made just 13 of 44 shots and committed 23 turnovers.

“We just put this in,” Brown said. “We’ve been running the 2-3 most of the year, and we decided to change things up. That was the best we’ve played on defense all year.”

It was a formula that probably should have resulted in a victory, if not for the Wildcats’ inability to make shots from the field.

After hitting a paltry 6 of 28 shots in the first half, the Wildcats were even colder in the second half, missing their first 13 shots before Matti Ventling’s scoop layup with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter.

Layups, set shots, jumpers, 3-pointers — nothing seemed to fall for Las Vegas, which finished 11 of 59 from the field.

“It was not our game for shooting,” Brown said. “If any of our shots would have fallen, this would have been a different game.”

Ventling led the way with 19 points on 6-for-22 shooting. Shomari Harris had 12 points, and Tonnisha Thomas grabbed 10 rebounds for Las Vegas.

Alexa Johnson led the Tritons with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and teammate Frankie Pinto scored 17 points. Jessica DeGree came off the bench to grab 18 rebounds, 10 of those on the offensive end. DeGree had nine rebounds in the third quarter.

Las Vegas went 3-1 in the tournament, downing Northeast rival Rancho in the opener, then Basic and Marina (Calif.)

“It was just great for us. It really gives us confidence,” Brown said. “We saw some teams and players here that we will see during the season, and this gives us a boost going back into league play.”

Valley 72, Cheyenne 42 — Tyricia Payne poured in 42 points, and the Vikings bolted to a 15-1 first-quarter lead en route to a consolation-round win.

Gabrielle Cabanero added 13 points for Valley.

Brea Thompson scored 14 points, and Lajuana Brown tallied 12 points for Cheyenne.

Boulder City 64, Marina (Calif.) 49 — Alyssa Ybarra drained four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points to help the Eagles capture the third-place game.

Katlyn Daly scored 11 points, and Karlee Koopman added 10 points for Boulder City, which used a 12-0 first-quarter run to take control.

Melissa Lindquist led Marina with 14 points.

Desert Oasis 51, Rancho 30 — Tatiana Kearn had 11 points in the first half, including a four-point play in the first quarter, to help the Diamondbacks top the Rams in the consolation bracket final.

Kearn finished with 13 points for Desert Oasis, which hit six 3-pointers in the first half.

Sammi Tso and Auburn Smith each scored nine points for the Diamondbacks.

LaKissa Martin led Rancho with nine points.

Green Valley 68, Steveston-London (Canada) 46 — Angelica Mack tallied 20 points in the first three quarters, and the Gators raced to a 46-21 halftime lead before cruising to the win.

Jill Harland added 12 points for Green Valley.

Anmol Mattu poured in 23 points for Steveston-London.

Faith Lutheran 67, Bonanza 21 — Sam Leonard led a balanced attack with 12 points, and the Crusaders used a 45-6 burst during the middle two quarters to rout the Bengals.

Julia Benko had 10 points for Faith Lutheran.

Diamond Pace led Bonanza with eight points.

Basic 35, Mt. Eden (Calif.) 32 — Marissa Ross tallied nine points as the Wolves outlasted Mt. Eden.

Dana Deloney added eight points for Basic.

Chaparral 38, Tech 32 — Kiona Gray scored 11 points to help the Cowboys top the Roadrunners in a consolation game.

Kristena Wilson led Tech with 10 points.