Vintage’s run at end of first half leads them past Justin-Siena in defensive battle
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
In basketball, a late run can be all that’s needed to push a team to victory.
But, it’s even more key when the teams are both so even.
That was the case when the Vintage girls’ basketball team beat Justin-Siena 37-23.
The Crushers (8-13 overall, 3-5 Vine Valley Athletic League) ended the first half by going on a 9-0 run to go into halftime with an eight-point edge, which they’d never relinquish.
“Well, we started covering the middle a lot better in the 13 (half-court trap) and made them throw it a little bit more around on the outside, which then we got a chance and jumped the passing lanes,” Vintage coach Joe Donohoe said. “We played 13 the whole night.”
“They tightened up their defensive pressure and we started to tun the ball over,” Justin-Siena coach Andy Bettencourt explained. “And when you start turning the ball over and you’re giving them easy opportunities, the other team gets into a rhythm. But, you know, I thought our half-court defense was good, but we definitely gave up a lot in transition. And it was from our mistakes that were caused by them to I mean, give them some credit as well.”
As for the Braves (7-15, 3-5 VVAL), the game could’ve been a lot closer had they not missed so many shots from the free-throw line. On the night, Justin-Siena made 5-of-17 shots from the charity stripe.
“We have to convert our opportunities when we get there,” Bettencourt added. “We’re earning those opportunities and right now we’re just not capitalizing on them.”
However, they did have the edge when it came to rebounding on the night as they brought in 31 of them to Vintage’s 21.
“I thought we did rebound the ball well,” Bettencourt said. “We preach rebounding and our kids showed a lot of fight underneath to go get the ball.”
The leading scorer of the game was freshman guard Lizzie Qui. She ended the night with 11 points and four rebounds.
Ellie Savage added six points and brought in a rebound to help the cause.
Eden Wood led the Crushers effort on the glass by grabbing six boards and scoring four points.
“It’s a team effort,” Donohoe acknowledged. “The energy was tremendous.”
Meanwhile, Isabella Wright led Justin-Siena by scoring eight points and bringing in six rebounds.
“Vintage tries to take Bella away every time we play them and for the most part they were able to,” Bettencourt said. “She had a couple (of) points here and there and got herself to the free-throw line. Unfortunately, we’re unable to score enough points to keep up.”
“She was a focus,” Donohoe added.
Lexi Rosenbrand and Isabelle Wells each added three points and a rebound on the night as well.
Justin-Siena’s leading rebounder on the night was Karlie Wells who brought in a game-high seven rebounds, all while adding a point as well.
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday. Vintage will visit Petaluma at 7 p.m., while Justin-Siena will visit Napa at 1 p.m.
In the previous meetings on January 9th, Petaluma narrowly beat Vintage 52-51 and Napa beat Justin-Siena 46-28.
In other VVAL games Thursday night, Sonoma Valley beat Petaluma 33-29 and Casa Grande beat Napa 51-29. The up-to-date VVAL standings can be viewed here.
