Justin-Siena gains double-digit advantage in third quarter, doesn’t look back in victory over Napa
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Normally, scoring just 26 points in a basketball game wouldn’t be close to enough to win.
However, there’s always an outlier where it is in fact enough to win. That was the case on Wednesday night when the Justin-Siena girls basketball team beat Napa 26-18.
The Braves (3-1 overall, 2-1 Vine Valley Athletic League) were able to secure the contest when they gained a 13-point edge in the third quarter.
“I think we were able to get a couple of open shots,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt said as to what helped his team gain a massive advantage. “I know Bella had a three in that quarter. That just kind of felt big. In games like this, a three feels like a lot more points than three at the time. But again, we kept defending. I think that was the key because we were able to kind of overcome our offensive woes by defending and getting stops.”
Meanwhile, Napa (0-3, 0-3 VVAL) just had trouble executing on offense according to their coach.
“I think we just don’t know what to do on offense,” Napa High head coach Taylor Willis emphasized. “We do things in practice to prepare them and they’re not disciplined enough to do them in games and it’s something we’re trying to figure out. We have a really large team this year, and maybe we’re not getting as many reps as maybe we need to. We were not focusing on the right things. I think defensively we did a pretty good job. I think there’s some things I know we need to work on in practice. But I think offensively if we can’t win a game if you only score 18 points.”
However, when the Grizzlies were facing a deficit, it was junior Sofia Tinnon who was to doing everything to help them come back. She ended the night with a team-high seven points on two-of-three free throw shooting. She also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
“Obviously, she is going to do everything in her power to win,” Willis said. “I think that she did her best. But the problem is she can’t do it alone. Especially, when they’re sending three to four people at her and showing help on her. She can’t will the basketball in. Sometimes she can. But she can’t, so her teammates need to help her out and I think we tried. But we’re not on the same page. So I don’t think we’re working together. I think we’re working as solo individuals.”
The Braves were led by Isabella Wright. On the night, she scored a game-high 13 points and secured seven rebounds.
“Bella did a really good job of being physical on both ends of the floor,” Bettencourt said of his junior forward. “She made some free throws. She found her way and to a good night.”
Having a good not off the bench was Isabelle Wells. She ended the night with five points, which included a three-point field goal in the first half.
“Bell’s a good shooter. She’s had a little bit of a rougher start to the season,” Bettencourt said of Wells. But she came out tonight and was confident. I was really proud of her. She won a loose ball. We talk about it all the time on the team. We know Belle can shoot, but she went out and won a loose ball and that really fired our team up watching her do that. Again, her shooting was great and that was a big part of it but also her ability to go do something to contribute to our team as well.”
Both teams will be back in action on Friday night. Napa will continue VVAL play when they head to American Canyon for a 7 pm tip-off. Meanwhile, Justin-Siena will have the league bye but will host Maria Carillo-Santa Rosa in a game that starts at 6 pm.
In other VVAL games Wednesday night, American Canyon beat Casa Grande. A score couldn’t be found for the Vintage-Petaluma game before publishing this story.
