Tiffani Long, Jessica Harper lead Lady Tigers past Butler
The Nevada Lady Tigers varsity basketball team earned their eighth win of the year as they hosted the Lady Bears of Butler Monday night.
The Lady Tigers came into the game knowing that Butler lacked a lot of quality shooters and came out with intense defensive pressure right from the start to take advantage of it. Their game plan took some time to develop, but worked to perfection through most of the game.
"We wanted to put that pressure on them," head coach Brent Bartlett said. "We knew they only had one shooting guard."
The game started off very even as the two teams found themselves tied on two occasions in the early minutes, and went on to swap the lead four different times in the opening period. Nevada's defense was eventually able to take over the game, however, and the Lady Tigers went on an 8-0 run to take the lead 18-10 and never looked back.
Nevada's offense seemed to get a late spark as well, hitting six consecutive shots in the closing minutes of the first period. By the time the buzzer sounded and the quarter came to a close, the Lady Tigers found themselves up by 10, at 20-10.
Turnovers quickly became a major source of issue for the Lady Bears thanks to Nevada's tough defensive pressure and Butler went on to commit a total of 16 turnovers in the first half. That, combined with a continually strong offensive effort allowed the Lady Tigers to eventually extend their lead to as much as 18 in the first half.
Heather Thomas had a strong first half for Nevada as she led the offensive effort with nine points. Butler's Tori Stauffacher brought the Lady Bears back into the game late into the second quarter with three consecutive treys to pull back within eight, and finished out the half with nine points.
That eight-point deficit was as close as the game got and the Lady Tigers were eventually able to build their lead back to 13 as they took a 37-24 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The second half started in much the same way as the first as the Lady Tigers were unable to really get much going through the early minutes of the frame. Nevada eventually got their rhythm back, however, and outscored Butler 13-6 in the quarter to take a 49-30 lead into the game's final eight minutes.
Turnovers continued to plague Butler through the third quarter as they added another eight to their total, bringing it to 24 in the game. Nevada took advantage of those turnovers throughout the contest, continuing to open up their lead.
The Lady Tigers seemed to become much more relaxed on the defensive end of the floor in the fourth quarter and that allowed Butler to put up a double figure point total in the frame. Nevada's offense, however, never let up and went on to tie the Lady Bears 13-13 in the fourth quarter to take the victory by a final score of 62-43.
Freshman Tiffani Long had another strong night offensively as she led all scorers with 16 points in the contest. Jessica Harper showed intense effort on both ends of the floor as well, finishing out the night with six steals and 15 points.
"What a game by Jessica Harper," Bartlett said. "Her effort is tremendous!"
For Butler, Breezy McGuire led the offensive effort, finishing the game as the only player in double figures with 12. Nevada's JV team was able to pick up a victory over Butler on the night as well, taking their game by a final score of 51-29.
With that win, the Lady Tigers extend their record on the season to 8-15 and will hope to remain on the winning track as they head to Pleasant Hill for a makeup contest tonight. The JV game is set to tip off at 6 p.m., with the varsity to follow.