Big Game thriller: Vintage prevails after two overtimes to beat Napa in instant classic
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Don Lex (LuckyDuckImages.com)
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Both teams came in with momentum, so usually when both teams come in hot you’d expect a good game.
Well, this game was more than good as there’s many words that one could use to describe Saturday’s Big Game girls basketball. Words like war, slugfest, gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, edge of your seat, and competitive all work, but the main word was inspiring.
“I’m inspired, that’s what I’ll say, that’s what I said,” Vintage coach Joe Donohoe explained. “I’m inspired by that act of human nature that they just put in front of what was there a thousand people in here maybe? I don’t know you tell me whatever this gym holds, it was pretty close. It was inspiring. They would not quit, and that’s what we talked about at halftime. At the end of the game somebody’s going to go home a loser and it’s going to come down to who’s got more in the tank at the end and it was anybody’s game. I give a ton of credit to Napa High, they came out and fought for every inch all night long. I enjoyed the game, in spite of having to keep track of every second of it coaching wise.”
It was a double overtime instant classic in the second Big Game girls basketball of the year that saw Vintage come away with a 61-56 victory, in front of a capacity crowd at Crusher Gym.
“I told them ‘I’m more proud of tonight than I’ve been on any other night’,” Napa coach Darci Ward said of her team’s effort. “This was one of the best Napa-Vintage games that I’ve ever coached in, and I’m so proud of them.”
“I would say that’s the best game the two teams have ever played,” Vintage senior guard Alyssa Andrews explained.
The thing that the Crushers (17-6 overall, 9-1 Vine Valley Athletic League) did better than their counterparts was rebounding. Vintage ended the night with a total of 69 rebounds, while Napa (13-10, 4-5 VVAL) brought in only 36 rebounds.
“We struggled definitely a bit,” Ward explained of her teams rebounding on the night. “We talked about that as rebounds being like the biggest thing. In a close game it does come down to rebounds. They’re a little taller, some of them are a little bigger, but we weren’t in position to box out at time, so that hurt us for sure.”
“Our coaches always do say ‘rebounding is a mentality’, so we went out there and rebounded,” Andrews said of the importance of rebounding.
At the half Vintage led Napa by only a point, but right out of the half the Grizzlies caught fire and ended the quarter with a seven-point edge over their rivals. At one point Napa even held a ten point edge, which was the largest lead anyone held all night.
In the fourth quarter Napa made plenty of clutch shots, but most of them were made by Carly Johnson. Johnson ended the night with 18 points and seven rebounds.
“I call her beast mode player, and she was ready,” Ward explained of Johnson. “I’m really proud of her because she wasn’t hitting shots earlier, and she just didn’t give up, and then she hit those big threes that put us ahead and gave us the lead. So, she did a great job.”
Maizy Armstrong-Brown also added a solid 14 points and five rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Vintage was led by Andrews who had 26 points and 14 rebounds.
“She is a player,” Ward said of Andrews. “She’s a gamer, she’s a big gamer, and she does a good job.”
“I think I stayed calm, which is a big factor, and I didn’t let the crowd or the score of the game or the double-overtime get to me,” Andrews explained of her big night.
Not to be overdone Kate Ilsley had 12 points and brought in an astounding 16 rebounds. Nicole Gleeson added nine points, while bringing in eight rebounds.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Vintage will visit Sonoma Valley, while Napa will host American Canyon. On January 10th Vintage beat Sonoma Valley 39-29, while Napa beat American Canyon 62-53.
