Sparks Tribune
John Byrne photos/Tribune
Reed senior Tori Baer (left) and Spanish Springs junior Mason Whittaker will be key players for their respective teams during the conference season that begins this week.
Conference play began for Northern Nevada basketball teams this week and there is a case to be made that the best boys team in the area could be in Sparks.
That was until last week that is.
The Reed and Spanish Springs boys squads both ran into a tough team from the Sierra League last week after dominating much of their non-conference schedules. The Raiders brought their 12-1 record into the gym of Bishop Manogue last Tuesday and left with a 55-48 loss.
Just two days later, the Cougs took their 14-2 record into the Miners house and came away with a very similar result – a 56-49 loss.
The games were a rare blemish on both teams records more than halfway into the season as they close the non-conference portion of the schedules. Spanish Springs was coming off of a 21-point performance by Leo Grass in a 67-44 win over Douglas last Tuesday and will enter High Desert League play with a 14-3 record when they host McQueen Friday.
Reed was able to rebound from its defeat with a 77-58 win over Damonte Ranch Friday and a 77-76 double-overtime win over Lowry Saturday. They entered HDL play with a record of 14-3 when they traveled to McQueen yesterday.
Girls
The Spanish Springs girls basketball team will enter HDL play Friday riding a two-game win streak. The Cougs defeated Douglas last Tuesday 45-34 behind 20 points from Mariah Barraza. They went on to knock off Bishop Manogue 51-48 Thursday to finish the non-conference schedule with a 12-5 record.
They open league play Friday when the host McQueen.
On the Reed side, the Raiders defeated Bishop Manogue as well last week by a score of 57-53 on Tuesday night.
They played at McQueen yesterday and will travel to Hug Friday.
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