A tough week came to an end for the Granite Bay High girls basketball team Thursday night in Grass Valley.

Playing its second straight game without star forward Sarah Sciascia, who has been slowed by a hip injury, the Lady Grizzlies came up on the short end once again, this time with a 55-47 loss to Nevada Union. Granite Bay coach Melissa Triebwasser expects to have Sciascia back on the floor by the time the Grizzlies play Rocklin next Thursday after a bye earlier in the week.

The Miners came out hot and did a nice job spreading their scoring through the entire contest.

“(Nevada Union) was the first team in league to put up double digits against us in all four quarters, Triebwasser said. “After getting outscored 17-11 in the first period, we played them within two the rest of the game. It was 29-23 at the half, as we made adjustments on defense and got some points in transition, we just couldn't find a way to stop their inside-out game.”

Jessica Miller continued her stellar offensive play for the Grizzlies, scoring eight of the 11 first-quarter points on a pair of 3-pointers and a lay-up. She finished the game with 10 points.

”Shelbi Tooley, who has really stepped up in Sarah's absence shook of a rough start against the pressure defense of the Miners to score seven points in the second (quarter),” Triebwasser said.

Tooley got to the line seven times and hit a long two-point shot. She also had four rebounds and a pair of assists, and was solid in the second half, as she finished with eight points. Laura Preston led all Granite Bay scorers with 12 points, including eight in the fourth period. Jessica Hamby had seven points and five rebounds.

Jordan Milhous consistently made plays in the paint for the Miners and their guards connected on a number of big 3-pointers. Milhous had 17 points, while Audrianna Colomb and Angela Hacche each added 10 for Nevada Union.

“Overall, I thought we played better than we had at Roseville on Tuesday, but we just weren't able to keep the intensity for the full 32 minutes,” Triebwasser said. “Not having Sarah in the lineup hurts, but I still feel that we have players out there that can make things happen, and I really was hoping to get a win this week.”

“We will regroup and refocus, and with four days of practice between now and our next game, we will try and get ready for Rocklin (3-6 in the SFL, 9-13 overall). With three league games left, we will try and finish strong and keep working towards securing a home playoff game or two.”

Securing those home games will be a difficult task for the Lady Grizzlies, who entered the week in the No. 2 spot in the power ratings. That lofty perch is sure to take a hit when the new rankings come out next week.

In addition to that Rocklin contest, Granite Bay (5-4, 15-9) will have two more games on the season slate, against unbeaten Del Oro (8-0, 19-2) and the SFL’s second-place team, Woodcreek (5-3, 16-7).