Prep Girls Basketball: Evans’ clutch treys help Del Norte High top Rancho Bernardo

Del Norte High’s Kayla Evans went nearly 24 minutes without taking a shot Wednesday night against rival Rancho Bernardo. But when the Nighthawks needed their senior guard the most she was able to heat up in a hurry.

Evans drained back-to-back 3-pointers in her first two attempts at the end of third quarter, helping the Nighthawks erase a four-point deficit and get an eventual 46-40 victory over the visiting Broncos in a non-league game.

Evans’ two treys ignited a 13-4 run and moved the Nighthawks to 4-0 all-time against Rancho Bernardo. It was the first loss of the season for the Broncos, whose high-intensity, suffocating defense kept them in it all the way to the finish.

“They were playing off of me and if a team is going to do that you have to make them pay,” said Evans, who scored all 10 of her points in the final 9-minutes, 21-seconds. She also went 4-for-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.

“I haven’t lost to Rancho Bernardo my whole time here and I wanted to keep it that way,” she added.

It was refreshing for Del Norte coach Jake McNeely to see his team hit a few big shots late in the game. The Nighthawks (4-3) have struggled to do that up to this point in the early season.

“We have lost a few close games earlier because we just couldn’t hit the key shots,” McNeely said. “So for us to finally hit a few key ones tonight is huge.”

Michelle Altice finished with a team-high 12 points, while Jessica Camerino also reached double-digits with 11 points for Del Norte. JoJo Pierick led the Broncos with 12 points, while Lane Reynolds and Aly Murray each chipped in with eight points.

The game featured six lead changes and nine ties. Rancho Bernardo’s biggest lead was five after a layup by Mackenzie Moore made it 17-12 with 3:10 to go before halftime. The Broncos looked to be taking control of the game when a putback by Valerie Reyes with 1:45 to go in the third quarter made it 29-25.

But that just set the stage for Evans’ back-to-back 3-pointers and the Nighthawks took a 31-30 lead heading into the final quarter. After a steal and layup by Pierick tied the game at 33-33 with 6:30 to go, Del Norte went on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good.