Basketball Recap: Virginia City Takes a Loss

Virginia City was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were outmatched by the Pyramid Lake Lakers and fell 72-19. While losing is never fun, the Muckers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked 63rd, while the Lakers are ranked 15th).

Despite the loss, Virginia City saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Tesla Turley posted 12 points.

It was another big night for Kaitlin Mandell, who went 9 of 19 to rack up 20 points and five steals for Pyramid Lake. Mandell has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Lara, who went 5 for 6 en route to 10 points and four steals.

Virginia City's defeat dropped their record down to 15-11. As for Pyramid Lake, the victory was the 13th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 22-5.

The two teams are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Virginia City is taking a road trip to square off against Smith Valley at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Pyramid Lake, they will host Sage Ridge at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pyramid Lake knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 13 games -- so hopefully Sage Ridge likes a good challenge.