Lady Tigers drop key conference contest to St. Pius, 42-36

The Nevada Lady Tigers were defeated by the St. Pius X Lady Warriors, 42-36 in a key West Central Conference matchup Friday night in Kansas City.

Nevada (8-4) entered the night 3-2 in West Central Conference-play, and in need of a victory in order to keep pace with the defending conference champion Lady Warriors, who came into the night 3-1 in WCC-play. The teams previously met Nov. 21 in Nevada, with St. Pius coming out on top, 41-36.

In the second meeting Friday evening, things looked promising for the Lady Tigers early, with Nevada leading 9-5 entering the second quarter, before increasing their advantage to 22-16 at the break. Impressively, the Lady Tigers held All-State point guard Antoinette Mussorici in check. Mussorici, an ESPN 3-star prospect, was held scoreless in the first half.

The Lady Warriors outscored Nevada 12-7 in the third, trimming their deficit to 29-28 entering the fourth. A pair of fourth quarter 3-pointers from St. Pius X junior Olivia Ervie proved key, as the Lady Warriors outscored Nevada 14-7 in the final frame en route to the six-point victory.

‘We did not handle their pressure well at all in the second half,” said Nevada head coach, Brent Bartlett, as the Lady Tigers six-game win streak came to a halt. “We had too many unforced turnovers, and missed a lot of easy shots around the basket. We will regroup and get ready for the Frontenac Tournament on Thursday.”

For Nevada, sophomore point guard Calli Beshore finished with a team-high 7 points, while freshmen Alison Bower and Brinna Ream chipped in six points apiece. St. Pius was led by Alaina Malott, as the junior wing concluded with a game-high 10 points. Meanwhile, Mussorici was held to six points, all coming in the second half.

In the junior varsity contest, Nevada fell to St. Pius, 43-37. The Lady Tigers trailed 18-17 at halftime, and 29-23 through three quarters of play. Nevada was unable to get any closer, as the final frame was played to a 14-14 draw. Freshman guard Tylin Heathman and Ream paced Nevada with nine points piece.

In the C-team contest, Nevada (3-2) was derailed, 43-23. The Lady Tigers trailed 24-10 at halftime, as St. Pius then outscored Nevada 19-13 in the second half for the final 19-point margin. For Nevada, Rebecca Cox finished with a team-high 11 points.

Up next

The Kansas Army National Guard Invitational, Thursday through Saturday in Frontenac, Kan.