Playoff basketball can sometimes be cruel.
After a season that saw the Spanish Springs girls dominate the High Desert League with 14 wins and a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, the Cougs were entering last week with hopes of going deep in the regional tournament and earning a berth in state this weekend at Lawlor Events Center. Those hopes were dashed, however, after its season came to a screeching halt in a 40-34 loss in the quarterfinals last Tuesday to fourth seeded Damonte Ranch.
The usually high-scoring Cougs may have come out and played a little tight to a team they handled easily in December by 16 points. They led the Mustangs 14-13 at half on Tuesday but could never find the second gear that made them successful all season. Damonte Ranch went on to outscore Spanish Springs 15-6 in the third quarter to take control of the game before holding off the Cougs in the fourth.
Damonte’s playoff run was ended on Thursday when they were ousted by Reno, 62-27.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 4 Reed nearly pulled off the upset of No. 1 Bishop Manogue, but the Miners came away with a 61-55 win. The Raiders entered the half with a 25-23 lead before being outscored 24-9 in the third quarter. Reed’s fourth quarter comeback effort came up short and its season was ended. Vanessa Hernandez led the Raiders with 25 points.
The Miners went on to fall to McQueen on Thursday to set up the title game on Saturday against Reno, who went on to beat the Lancers 54-48 to win the North. Both teams advanced to state that begins tomorrow in Reno.
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