The Sparks girls basketball team has had its fair share of struggles in recent seasons. And, unfortunately for the Railroaders, Monday’s 32-12 loss to Dayton at the annual McQueen holiday tournament is proof the woes aren’t over.

Still, second-year Sparks coach Tony Shaw is trying to find a few bright spots. He found a way to do just that after Monday’s defeat.

“Defensively, we weren’t bad. We are playing really hard,” Shaw said. “We are getting up in people’s faces. We are getting loose balls. We’re doing a pretty good job on that end.”

Dayton scored the first basket of the game, but Sparks answered with a bucket of its own and the score was knotted at 2-2 early in the first quarter.

Dayton (7-3) took control from there. The Dust Devils scored the next 12 points and took a 14-2 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The DHS hoopsters ran their string of unanswered points to 21 by reeling off the first nine points after the intermission.

Sparks got a free throw and then Gabby Diaz dropped in a bucket late in the third period, but the Railroaders still faced a 25-5 deficit at the quarter’s conclusion.

“We rebounded pretty well and I thought we came out and played better defense in the second half,” Dayton coach Shari Andreason said. “We got after it a little harder. I thought we played kind of flat and didn’t have much pressure in the first half.”

Both teams scored seven points in the final period. While Sparks was far from impressive on the offensive end in the second half, it was better, scoring 10 points in the final two quarters as opposed to just two in the entire first half.

“We’re just inexperienced. We get a little nervous when we get around the basket,” Shaw said. “We have great effort. The kids play hard, but they’re inexperienced and it shows on the offensive side.”

Shandana Reed led Sparks with 4 points. In addition to Diaz, Amanda Clark, Maria Rodriguez and Alex Perez all chipped in 2 points.

Mattia Spencer finished with 11 points to top Dayton’s offensive attack.

Sparks fell to 1-5 with Monday’s loss. The Railroaders will play 3A North League opponents in non-league affairs Tuesday and Wednesday at the McQueen tourney. The SHS squad plays Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Again, Shaw did his best to find a silver lining in his team’s current situation.

“This will be real good for us. It’s just good for us to play,” he said. “Plus, we’ll get a feel for a couple league teams.”