Dakota Shaw's absence was certainly felt by the Sparks girls basketball team Monday afternoon.

Without their floor general, who sat out with back spasms, the Railroaders fell apart after a close first quarter and suffered a 64-41 defeat at the hands of the Lowry Buckaroos.

"We're still just not mentally strong enough to sustain," Sparks coach Tony Shaw said. "It hurts them when Dakota isn't in the game because she's pretty much the floor leader."

The two middle quarters proved to be the backbreakers for Sparks. After battling to a 16-14 deficit through the first eight minutes of the game, the Railroaders' offense disappeared and Lowry took advantage.

The Buckaroos opened the second quarter on a 12-0 run when it took Sparks nearly four minutes to score. The visitors from Winnemucca never looked back.

Lowry went into halftime with a 36-24 lead, and then held Sparks to only six points in the third period, while scoring 19.

The Railroaders were able to win the fourth quarter, 11-9, with mostly the Buckaroos' reserves in the game. Sparks could have made it much closer, but the charity stripe was unkind. The Maroon and Gold was a paltry 13-of-31 from the free-throw line with 12 of the 18 misses coming in the second half when both teams were in a bonus situation for almost the entire fourth quarter.

"We'll play well, and then we'll go in a funk. Then we'll play decent, but by then we'll be in a hole too deep," Shaw said. "We don't have the skill players to come back."

Sierra Shaw paced Sparks with 16 points, but she missed 11 free throws. Cynthia Hawkins also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Ten Buckaroos found the scoring column. Leading the way were Savannah Carlo, Amaya Criswell and Morgan Thocken with 14, 13 and 10 points respectively.

The Railroaders (2-14, 1-6 3A North) will be in search of revenge Friday when they head to Lowry for a 7 p.m. contest.

Boys Basketball

Lowry 53, Sparks 50

Much like Saturday's loss to Yerington, the Railroaders enjoyed a healthy halftime lead, but didn't enjoy much after the break.

"We're not coming out of the locker room focused or prepared," Sparks boys basketball coach Dick Lee said. "Against both teams we turned the ball over five straight possessions against halfcourt pressure and let the home team get momentum."

Albert Claypool and David Anduja both scored 16 points to lead Sparks, while Zack Quilici chipped in with 12 points.

Lee said he's looking forward to coming home to fix things, but added that the Railroaders have been struggling there as well.

Sparks (8-11, 2-4 3A North) will try to move back to the .500 mark in league play when it hosts Lowry Wednesday and Spring Creek Thursday. Both games are slated for 7 p.m.