Lady Dawg freshman Nathalie Laganmayo drives into the paint for two of her 8 points during the Bulldogs loss to Fallon in Friday’s NIAA State 3A Basketball Tournament.
Photo by Lou Martin

The Virgin Valley High School Lady Dawg basketball team pretty much manhandled their opposition this past regular season but could not overcome mistakes to continue their run. The Bulldogs committed 34 turnovers in a 52-40 semi-final loss to the Greenwave from Churchill County (Fallon Nevada). It’s remarkable that the score was only 52-40, because 34 mistakes is a tough number to overcome. Bulldog Bernice Fiso continued her great play throughout the playoffs leading the Dawgs with 15 points, 7 points and 2 rebounds. Fiso sacrificed her body on both ends of the court. “It was our last game (seniors) but we left it on the court,” said Fiso. “I wish the game turned out better, but we did our best.” Bulldog freshman Nathalie Laganmayo had a huge game for a freshman point guard despite a few mental mistakes. Laganmayo got a large roar from the crowd when she blocked a taller Greenwave and went the distance for a layup high off the glass. Laganmayo finished with 8 points for the game.

Fiso hit the first two points of the game to give the Lady Dawgs their first and only lead of the game. The Bulldogs could not handle the full court pressure and fell behind 17-11 after one period. Laganmayo had 4 points for the Dawgs. The Bulldogs made a run to begin the second period closing to 19-16 before going five minutes without a basket. The Greenwave took advantage of Bulldog errors to take a 29-18 lead at the half. The Dawgs committed 18 ball handling errors in the half.

The Lady Bulldogs came out more aggressively in the thirs period but could not overcome their own mistakes and fell behind 42-26 after three periods. Fiso had 6 of the Bulldogs 8 third quarter points. The Greenwave stretched their lead to 52-33 before the Dawgs scored the last 7 points of the game to win easily 52-40. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 22-5 overall record but two stinging defeats in tournament play overshadowed a great season. The Greenwave will play in Saturday’s championship game against archrival Lowery High School who blew out Moapa Valley in the second half to win 61-42.