The Fernley Vaqueros will stay at home for another game and welcome the Churchill County Greenwave at 6:00 p.m. on January 17th. Hopefully Fernley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 21 last Saturday.
In what's become a running theme this season, Fernley gave their fans yet another huge victory last Saturday. They blew past South Tahoe 64-39. Given Fernley's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked fourth in Nevada, while South Tahoe is ranked 31st in California), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fernley's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaiserita Otuafi, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Otuafi has scored all season. Taylor Tollestrup was another key contributor, scoring 18 points along with nine rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Churchill County unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Friday. They were dealt a 76-39 loss at the hands of Lowry. Churchill County has not had much luck with Lowry recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
Despite the loss, Churchill County had strong showings from Jada Anastasio, who scored 19 points along with four steals, and Karlie Simper, who scored seven points along with four steals. Simper continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played.
Fernley's win bumped their record up to 17-1. As for Churchill County, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 14-4.
Wednesday's game is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Fernley have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Churchill County struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 33.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Fernley took their win against Churchill County in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 by a conclusive 47-26. Will Fernley repeat their success, or does Churchill County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
