Lady Vandals best Bulldogs 62-35

Eureka County High School sophomore Anna McKay had 17 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists to lift the Lady Vandals over the McDermitt Bulldogs, 62-35, on Friday, Jan. 9. Classmate Natalie Bliss added eight points and seven rebounds, and fellow sophomore Keilailee Perkins had eight points, six rebounds and four steals in the win.

Eureka jumped out to a four-point first-quarter lead and maintained it going into halftime, 23-19. The Bulldogs cut the lead to three going into the fourth quarter, when the Vandals went to work on the Bulldogs’ depleted roster, scoring 28 points and allowing just four.

“McDermitt only had five girls available to play, and two of them fouled out in the fourth, which allowed us to pull away,” explained ECHS head coach Travis Gallagher. 

Despite the victory, the Vandals managed to shoot just 28% from the field. It was the 17 steals and 45 rebounds that gave Eureka the extra possessions they needed to pull away.

The Lady Vandals also broke the Mustangs in Lund on Tuesday, Jan. 6, winning 38-27. Bliss had 13 points and eight boards, and sophomore Sophia Dickover scored seven points and collected four steals. The Vandals shot just 26% from the field, though.

“The girls are moving the ball well and making good choices, but we just can’t get the ball to go through the net at a good percentage,” Gallagher said. “Our defense is keeping us in the games, but we need better production going forward.”

ECHS plays host to Carlin (2-10, 0-4) on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. Owyhee (7-1, 3-0) visits at the same time on Friday night in a game that’ll go a long way in deciding the winner of the Eastern 1A.

The team travels to McDermitt on Jan. 23, then hosts Lund on Jan. 27 and Wells on the 30th, before traveling to Jackpot on the 31st.