Lady Vandals roll Jackpot, Wells

The Eureka County High School girls basketball team won its last two regular season home games, starting with a 37-28 victory over the Wells Leopards on Friday, Jan. 30. 

The Leopards hung around in the first half and trailed by just two after one period of play. The Vandal lead was eight at halftime, but the Leopards won the third quarter 16-2 to flip the script and take an eight-point lead themselves. 

“Very competitive game versus Wells. We kind of fell apart in the third quarter. Turnovers led to easy layups, and we couldn’t get the ball into the basket after a change in their defense,” explained ECHS head coach Travis Gallagher. “Figured things out in the fourth quarter. Amped up the defense and started scoring.”

The Vandals won the fourth quarter, 16-1. Sophomore Anna McKay led Eureka with 19 points, and junior Quil Filippini added seven steals, five points and four rebounds.

The Lady Vandals put away the Jackpot Jaguars with ease on Saturday, 37-17. Sophomore Sophia Dickover scored 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Classmate Natalie Bliss added eight points and eight boards for the Vandals. 

“We were able to play the JV in most of the Jackpot game and got another win. Locked in second place with those wins,” said Gallagher. “Big game versus Owyhee coming up. Standings won’t change, but a win would definitely be a morale boost going into the regional tournament.”

Owyhee (15-1, 10-0) gave the Vandals their last loss on Jan. 16 by a score of 37-36. ECHS will visit the Braves on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m. to close out the regular season. Before that is a trip to Carlin (3-16, 1-9) for a game that tips at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6.