Eagle Valley girls basketball holds on against Battle Mountain in tight, prime time rivalry win

Technically, Thursday night was Dan Reynold’s first Battle Mountain-Eagle Valley rivalry game. What an introduction it was.

“It was electric,” the Huskies’ first-year coach said after the back-and-forth, prime-time battle ended in 3-point loss to the Devils. “The parking lot was full — you had to park out in Freedom Park. But that’s how it should be.”

Battle Mountain fed off the full home crowd’s energy from the gun. The Huskies were more physical. They talked more. And louder.

“I think it really got to us in the first half,” admitted Eagle Valley senior Esme Almanza, who scored six points but was even more influential doing the dirty work — setting hard screens, grabbing rebounds and wrestling away jump balls down low.

“It was a tough game,” Almanza continued. “Our coach always tell us whoever is the most physical team wins. I think we failed a little bit on that today. We could have pushed it a little more and been more aggressive. But we came out on top.”

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Eagle Valley ended the first quarter ahead 10-8, but Battle Mountain closed with all the momentum and energy. Even though the Devils went up 14-8 early in the second, the Huskies’ physicality and hustle eventually frustrated their opponents. Kate Kovacik dove on the floor for a loose ball, then whipped it to her sister, Izzy, for a fast break layup, capping off a 7-0 run to give the home team it’s first lead, 15-14 with 3:03 left in the half.

From that juncture, neither team pulled ahead by more than a possession until late in the fourth quarter. The back-and-forth grind was exactly what Reynolds drew up.

“Our defense is about ball pressure, deny the pass to the wing, help out and recover and those things,” he said. “Those basic man principles I think really paid off tonight (and) gave us an opportunity to win.”

Based on his latest scout film, Eagle Valley coach Vinny Cisneros had his team prepped for a zone defense, not a chippy man-to-man scheme.

“I thought we got some good looks in our sets, but just couldn’t take the lid off,” he said.

Eagle Valley took a 16-15 lead into the half. But freshman Hannah Miano — who came into the game averaging 11.1 points per game — and sharpshooting senior Ella Webster (10.3 points per game) were held in check.

“We came in here during halftime and were like, ‘we have to step it up,'” Almanza said. “Out there, it’s just a lot of yelling – it’s hard to focus, but you have to do what you got to do. Focus on passing, focus on simple things.”

The noise only increased in the third.

“Energy is not a problem with our girls,” Reynolds commented. “Whatever they do – if we have a rebounding drill, playing on the court, dancing and having fun — the energy is off the chart.”

The Huskies broke the full-court press and stayed within two by the end of the period. With 4:54 left in the game, Lily Brueck — whom Cisneros tasked with guarding Izzy Kovacik — launched a full-court pass to Webster for a layup. Brueck took a charge on the next possession and Almanza swished a floater on the following play to make it a five point game.

“I thought Lily did an amazing job on Izzy,” Cisneros said. “We knew she was their go-to player and we asked Lily to keep her in check. The charge she took late in the fourth is what kind of swung the game.”

But the Huskies didn’t lay down. Ruthie Casey received a bounce pass from Kate Kovacik on a two-on-one fast break, putting home the layup and drawing a foul. Izzy Kovacik went 6-for-7 from the free throw line in the final quarter alone, getting the Huskies to within one point with 1:15 left.

Both squads struggled to take care of the ball in the final minute, but with 37.7 seconds left, the Huskies took possession. Reynolds asked for time.

“I was hoping to get Izzy to the hole, at least get fouled,” the coach said. “She was doing an outstanding job of making free throws, especially in the fourth.”

Kovacik took an isolation play from the top of the key, crossed over from left to right and barreled into the lane. Brueck — a state-qualifying 300-meter hurdler — beat her to the spot, however, and Kovacik pushed off with the left hand, fouling out on the play.

Emotions ran high on both sides over the last few possessions.

“I know everybody was kind of getting antsy, so I was trying to stay composed and not try to foul,” said Eagle Valley’s Terra Hasley, who ended up getting fouled with a one-point lead and 16 seconds left. The junior went to the line and calmly nailed both shots to seal the win.

“All the kids screaming – it was just crazy. My ears were ringing,” Hasley said. “I shot the ball and hoped it went in, but we practice free throws every day, so I’m glad I made them.”

“Terra hitting those two free throws late — loud gym, tense atmosphere — that was clutch,” Cisneros said. “It wasn’t pretty, but good teams find a way to win and that’s what we were able to. Credit to Battle Mountain and Coach Reynolds; they played a heck of game and they certainly made us a better team for it.”

Battle Mountain falls to 4-6 with the loss while the Devils improved to 8-7 overall and 2-0 in league play.

“We’re very excited about that and we’re just going to keep working hard and keep winning games,” Hasley said.

The rivals will face off again on Feb. 19 in Gypsum.

“It’s going to be tough,” Hasley said when asked about what the rematch could look like after a feisty first affair. “We’ll have to see — it’s whoever works harder and stays composed I guess.”