Reed starts strong, soars past Foothill

RENO -- Foothill's girls basketball team was making its first appearance at the state tournament Thursday. And for the first few minutes, the Falcons looked out of their element.

That was all Reed needed.

The Raiders scored the first eight points and never trailed in a 59-45 victory over the Falcons in a Class 4A state semifinal at Lawlor Events Center.

"We talked about that before the game," Foothill coach Mike Collins said. "It's still just another basketball game, and over the last year, they've had 100 of them. It's just a matter of getting out there and get to work."

Reed (22-2) will play Reno (27-5) for the state title at 6 p.m. today.

Reed, which played in the state semifinals last season, took the lead for good on Nyasha LeSure's baby hook shot 66 seconds into the game. The Falcons looked nervous from the start, and though they pulled within 12-8 late in the first quarter, never got over the hump.

"My girls knew what they were coming into," Reed coach Sara Schopper said. "A new team that's never been here before, I can see how the environment is overwhelming."

Reed used a 14-4 run to close the first half with a 32-17 lead. The Falcons never were closer than seven points in the second half.

Foothill (20-6) made only 18 of 65 shots from the field and committed 20 turnovers. "We have to make shots," Collins said.

The Falcons also had few answers for LeSure, a 6-foot-1-inch post who will play at UNR next season. She finished with 19 points, and Gabby Williams, a 5-11 sophomore point guard, had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

"They outsized us, at times on the court, 3 inches at every position," Collins said. "They're a good team. We lost to a good team."

Tyler Sumpter had 15 points and Sierra Hooft 10 as four players combined to score all of Reed's points.

Julie Harless led Foothill with 11 points, and Christina Nash scored 10. Bri Higgins had nine points and 10 rebounds, and Tanji Ajeto added eight points and 10 rebounds.

"If we had it to do over again, we wouldn't change anything," Collins said. "We'd just want to make more shots."

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.