The Spanish Springs Cougars appear to be getting used to close comeback wins. The SSHS squad won its third league game of the year where it had to come back in the final two minutes to capture a victory, besting Bishop Manogue 49-44 in girls prep basketball action Tuesday night.



The two teams traded buckets for the greater part of the first three and a half quarters before a late Spanish Springs spurt settled the outcome.



Bishop Manogue looked like it might take control after the Miners extended their lead to 44-39 on an Ashley Armstrong putback with 3:11 remaining in the game.



It did not. In fact, the Miners did not score again in the conference clash. Spanish Springs finished the league affair on a 10-0 run to improve to 16-7 overall and 5-2 in High Desert League play.



"I think we just continue to believe in ourselves and down the stretch we were committed to playing a full 32 minutes," Spanish Springs coach Christine Eckles said. "We've been fortunate to come back twice against them and get victories."



A driving layup by Jordan Rogers knotted the game at 44-44 with 1:50 still left to play. Spanish Springs took advantage of a Miners' turnover on the ensuing possession and Cougars forward Ari James proceeded to knock down 1-of-2 free throws after getting fouled. Seconds later, Rogers got a steal in the backcourt and fed Jaci Carlsen for a short jumper on the baseline and a 47-44 Spanish Springs lead at the 1:38 mark of the final period.

Bishop Manogue had a chance to tie but Nicole Aboumrad's 3-point try went long and was rebounded by Carlsen. The Spanish Springs senior point guard was quickly fouled. She sank two free throws with five seconds left and the comeback win was complete for the Cougars.



Tuesday's tilt was similar to the rivals' HDL meeting on Dec. 18. Spanish Springs trailed most of the second half in that game before rallying to win the matchup in the final minute.



Bishop Manogue (10-11, 2-4) grabbed the early momentum, leading 10-4 after the first quarter. However, Spanish Springs opened the second period with a 10-3 burst to take its first lead at 14-13 following a Courtney Darby layup.



"Obviously I'd like us to have better starts. I think that would help us, but I don't know really what the answer is," Eckles said. "If I did know, I'd make the change. We definitely have to start not putting ourselves in a hole all the time."



The Cougars took a 20-19 lead into the locker room at halftime and Manogue led 33-32 after three periods, setting the stage for the Cougars' crunchtime heroics.



Spanish Springs helped its cause by handing Bishop Manogue a dose of its medicine. Both teams routinely win the rebounding battle, but Spanish Springs dominated the glass Tuesday by a 42-26 margin.



"I think they're definitely one of the best rebounding teams in the league. That really was a focus for us, to keep them to one and done and at the same time go hard to the offensive glass," Eckles said. "That's a big accomplishment to beat them on the boards and it shows the effort the kids put in."



Spanish Springs has only been out-rebounded twice all season and one of those came in its first meeting with the Miners.



James, who led all scorers with 15 points, paced the Cougars rebounding effort by pulling down 12 boards. Darby added 9 points and 9 rebounds to the Sparks school's winning performance.



Rogers was also big for Spanish Springs, posting 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals 3 blocks and 3 assists.



Spanish Springs limited Bishop Manogue's all-league duo of Taylor Sylvester, the HDL's reigning player of the year, and Ashley Armstrong to 12 and 10 points respectively.



Neither team got a single point from its bench.



Spanish Springs returns to action Friday for a Winter Homecoming game against Fallon. Tip-off is set for 5:15 p.m.