Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Dierks Unfriendly For NHS Squads

Dierks was an unfriendly place for the Nevada BlueJays Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Both senior teams saw their basketball seasons come to an end in the first round of the Class A Regional Tournament there.

The Jays succumbed to Mineral Springs 61-46 because of a horrendous fourth quarter. In the final eight minutes of the contest, the Hornets outscored the Jays 23-10, blowing open an otherwise close game.

On the other hand, the Lady Jays discovered why the Lady Indians of Caddo Hills are one of the best teams in the state. The Lady Indians posted a 67-32 win in their game.

NEVADA -- MINERAL SPRINGS

For 24 minutes, the Jays were able to keep pace with the Hornets in a fast-paced game.

Both squads were running and gunning, though neither team could hit the broad side of the basket early.

The Hornets held a 2-0 lead with 6:00 left in the first, as an Arctic blast apparently froze the shooters for both sides.

With 1:34 left in the opening frame, the Jays too a slim 5-4 lead, but were unable to hold it as the Hornets rallied to go up 9-7 at the buzzer.

While scoring became more plentiful in the second period, neither squad bothered to take care of the ball. Turnovers abounded on both sides.

At the half, the Hornets remained in the lead at 24-20.

The third frame was more of the same, as the two fought like two heavyweight boxers swapping punches to see who would go down first.

The Jays were able to survive the third, trailing 38-36 at the end.

However, the Hornets landed the knockout punch in the fourth, stunning the Jays and ending their season.

Eric Murphy led the Jays with 14 points, while Julius Gulley contributed nine.

The Hornets were paced by Jason Bradley's 19. Demar Green netted 15.

NEVADA -- CADDO HILLS

At no time did the Lady Indians allow the Lady Jays to feel they had a chance to win the game.

The Lady Indians came out shooting from all over the court, but didn't hit well in the opening frame.

However, their defense didn't allow the Lady Jays to get off many shots either.

Interestingly, before the first field goal was scored in the game, Caddo Hills led 4-0 on free throws.

Nevada, on the other hand, had problems solving Caddo's defense. It took the Lady Jays more than three minutes to cross mid-court and get their first shot underway.

Still, the Lady Jays battled with everything they had. Unfortunately, when Caddo Hills went to the bench, the players who came into the game were as good as those who left.

At the end of one, the Lady Jays trailed 14-6, but knew they were in for a long night and a hard fight.

The Lady Tribe found its rhythm in the second period, along with finding its range from beyond the arc.

Another problem the Lady Jays had was Caddo's girls played like boys, only better than most could.

With 1:29 left in the first half, the Lady Indians led 32-12, and went to the locker room up 36-13 at the break.

The Lady Indians were aggressive swinging their war clubs wildly at anyone nearby, fouling often, but scoring, basically at will.

At the 5:58 mark of the third period, the Lady Jays trailed 42-15. Regardless, the Nevada girls continued in their battle, knowing it was a case of win or go home.

They cut the score to 48-27 with 6.5 seconds left in the third, before missing a shot which was rebounded by Caddo Hills. The Lady Indians were able to work the ball downcourt and launch a three, which found the bottom of the net at the buzzer.

Unfortunately for the Lady Jays, they were never able to solve the puzzle presented by the Caddo Hills tribe.

Other coaches said the eventual regional winners were having an off night against Nevada. They said the Lady Indians were playing sloppy.

Shonda Young led the Lady Jays with 12 points, while Dilesha Easter netted eight.

Ginny Moore stroked the nylons for 28 as the game's leading scorer, while Tina Tigue added 12.

Nevada was fouled often, going to the stripe 23 times, converting 11 times. Caddo Hills, on the other hand, was five of eight from free throw land.