Top-ranked Reed too much for Carson girls in 4A regional semifinals

SPARKS - For 14-plus minutes, Carson stayed in the game with top-ranked Reed.

The other 18 minutes? Well, Reed outscored the Senators 37-14 to grab a 67-35 win in the Northern 4A regional girls semifinals Thursday night at Spanish Springs High School.

The loss ended Carson's season at 15-13, while Reed, 20-2, advances to Saturday's championship game against either Bishop Manogue or Reno.

The Senators shot 38 percent and turned the ball over 25 times against Reed's trapping, pressure defense. Neither number was going to be good enough to pull off an upset against a team of Reed's ability.

"We just didn't do the things we talked about doing," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "The cross-court pass was there the entire game. We had so many unforced turnovers. We didn't handle their pressure.

"We knew we had to play exceptionally well. They're a good team. We didn't execute the way we needed to."

The first half was especially rough. Carson turned the ball over 18 times and found itself trailing 40-21.

The Raiders led only 30-21 with 1:46 left after Emily Collins (6 points) knocked down a 3-pointer. Those would be Carson's last points of the half.

After Collins' basket, Tyler Sumpter drained a 3-pointer and was fouled after the shot, meaning Reed maintained possession. The Raiders didn't waste the opportunity as Nyasha LeSure made two free throws to complete the 5-point play and stretch the lead to 35-21.

Savannah Smith missed the front end of a 1-on-1 and then the Senators turned the ball over on their next possession. Sierra Hooft (14 points) drained two free throws, and after Carson's 18th turnover of the half, Sumpter (17 points) hit a 3-pointer to make it 40-21 at intermission.

Sumpter was huge in the second quarter, scoring 10 points on three 3-pointers and a free throw. She hurt Carson earlier this year with 29 points.

"We haven't had her for three weeks," Reed coach Sara Schopper said.

"She had a problem with her Achilles. They can't double (Gabby Williams or LeSure) with her out there."

Sumpter shouldn't have been a mystery to Carson considering what she did the last time, yet it seemed like the Senators forgot about her several times.

"Carson plays hard," Schopper said.

"Anything can happen, you know that. You aren't going to win a game in the first quarter.

"We had two goals, the first was to get to the championship game and the second was to make state. Carson stood in the way of both of those goals. This is my seventh year here, and we've been to the championship game every year."

Carson's scoring drought extended to the first 4-plus minutes of the second half, as Reed went on an 11-0 run to increase its lead to 51-21 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

It wasn't turnovers that killed Carson, it was shooting. The Senators missed their first seven shots of the second half and turned the ball over three more times in that stretch.

LeSure, who finished with 16 points, made two quick layups and had six of Reed's 11 in that stretch.

Baskets by Tiana McAllister-Daggs and Eliza Matley made it 51-25, but Reed scored eight of the next 10 for a 59-27 advantage after three.

"The third quarter truly hurt us," Ackerman said. "I thought we'd come out with a little more energy."

Though it's disappointing to lose by such a wide margin in the last game of the season, Ackerman felt the season was a success, especially considering that his team got off to a 0-7 start.

"We played hard all year," Ackerman. "The girls worked hard. The effort was always there. You have a kid like Emily (Collins) who works so hard every game. This was a good season."