Carson girls basketball gets back to business against Wooster

Carson High girls basketball got the perfect test to get back on track in Sierra League play with a 55-20 win over Wooster Tuesday night.

It was evident from the opening tip the Senators had their defense back in rhythm after two tough losses to Damonte Ranch and Bishop Manogue.

Carson led 7-0 in the game’s opening minutes after an interior basket from Camryn Quilling and a putback bucket from Naycy Alvarez.

Alvarez deposited eight points in the first half before ending the contest with 10.

A drive to the rack from Lily Bouza gave Carson its 7-0 lead as the Senator defense spent the opening minutes chasing the Colts around the floor, poking steals away frequently.

Bella Kordonowy threw a cross-court pass to Abby Golik for a corner 3-pointer that gave Carson a 10-3 lead midway through the opening quarter.

By the end of the first quarter, the Senators led 15-3 and took the chance to sub the starting five off the floor, giving minutes to some of their other role players.

Katelynn Wing started the second quarter with a basket after a baseline drive gave the sophomore room for a floater that fell through the twine.

Wooster rallied a bit – scoring the next seven points to make it 17-10 Carson midway through the second quarter – but once the starters returned to the floor the lead opened back up.

Carson ended the opening half on a 12-3 run behind two more interior baskets from Alvarez and a short-range jumper from Kordonowy off an assist from Bouza.

The Senators took a 29-13 lead into the locker room and expanded it in the third quarter.

“We had a couple of hard practices after that Damonte game,” said Carson head coach Doug Whistler. “They work hard. It’s not for lack of effort. They just need to start doing the little things right.”

Carson did everything right in the third, scoring 18 of the first 20 points out of the halftime intermission and taking a 47-15 lead before the end of the third quarter.

Golik, who hit several shots in the third quarter, finished with a team-high 14 points.

With nine different Senators ending up on the score sheet, Whistler got a good look at some athletes who haven’t seen the floor as much this season.

Sophomore Megan Finnerty scored two points with a bucket in the fourth quarter, but her overall play caught the eye of her head coach.

“Megan Finnerty stepped up and starting playing like we knew she could,” said Whistler. “We’ve been working with her all season long to play hard nosed defense. … She’s starting to do it.”

UP NEXT: Carson (12-5, 2-2) will get another shot at moving up the Sierra League standings Tuesday night when the Senators travel south to face their rival, Douglas (11-6, 3-1). The Tigers are coming off a 42-34 win over Damonte Ranch from Friday night.