Justin-Siena tightens up defense in second half to get past Kelseyville
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
The fourth quarter is where games can be won and lost.
But, in the Justin-Siena girls basketball teams case, they were able to use the fourth quarter to come back and beat Kelseyville, 40-28, on Tuesday night.
After the third frame was over, Kelseyville (1-4) had scored 27 points in the game. But once the fourth quarter had ended they scored just one lone point.
“I thought our kids just played with an extreme amount of confidence and poise,” Justin-Siena coach Andy Bettencourt said. “I’m really, really proud of all those kids tonight. They did a heck of a job in the fourth quarter. Our defense was really good. We were constantly changing our defense and they were focused. They were in it andI’m just really proud of those kids out there tonight. They played a heck of a fourth quarter.”
“I really think just it was our attitude,” Justin-Siena junior forward Lexi Rosenbrand added. “Like our bench was super excited. We are all just engaged and we really just picked it up. I think we wanted it that bad. We always want it, but today we really wanted it.”
This is also a very satisfying victory for the Braves (2-4), considering they lost their previous game by only two points.
“It’s big. I mean, we’ve been struggling and these one-possession losses are starting to hurt,” Bettencourt explained. “So, to win a game that was one-possession for a lot of it was big and then to finish it off in the fourth quarter was great.”
Justin-Siena also ended the night with four players with eight points or more. But, leading the way was Rosenbrand who ended the night with a career high12 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
“We had some really good passes and it led to some open shots,” Rosenbrand said. “When they’re open, they’re easy.”
Also having good nights was Charmaine Griffin and Alyssa Curtola. Both of them ended the night with eight points. Griffin also had four rebounds, while Curtola had two.
Leading the way on the glass was Gabi Richardson who grabbed eight rebounds and had eight points as well.
“She did an amazing job rebounding tonight off of rebounds and missed shots,” Rosenbrand explained. “She put them back up and scored and that was super crucial for us. She played her heart out and we really needed that.”
“She was just awesome and the thing about Gabi is she’s just a great kid,” Bettencourt pointed out. “We’ve loved her since day one. She’s a heck of a player. They did a heck of a job with her at Vintage over there of developing her and she just works hard. (In) the last game I think she played three minutes. She never complained. She just kept working hard tonight. She’s one of the biggest differences in the game, so (I) couldn’t be happier for her.”
The Braves won’t have much time in order to celebrate the victory since they’ll be back in action on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when they face Arcata at the REIBT tournament at Healdsburg.
Good article!