Vintage ramps up defensive intensity to power past Pioneer, pick up first victory of season
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Strong defense can lead to lots of success.
This was the case on Saturday night when the Vintage girls’ basketball team powered past Pioneer-Woodland, 57-32, to pick up their first win of the season.
The Crushers (1-1) got off to a slow start till the halfway point of the first quarter. However, from that point on Vintage went a 9-0 run that gave them the momentum needed to gain control of the contest.
“Defensive intensity, just the defensive mindset that we weren’t going to give them an inch, speed them up,” Vintage head coach Joe Donohoe said as to what changed after the slow start. “Yeah, it was a good win.
The defensive intensity shined brightly on other occasions throughout the game. The half-court trap led to a shot clock violation, numerous turnovers by Pioneer, and most importantly easy fast-break buckets.
“Well, sticking with it and not fouling, not reaching, and staying on the ground,” Donohoe pointed out of the shot clock violation. “They hear it all day long at practice and they get excited. They want the ball and sometimes you’re going to reach and be overly aggressive. But I think they figured out what the reps were going to call them what they weren’t, so we stuck with that.”
A shining quarter for the Crushers team defense was the second quarter when they held the Patriots (1-2) to just one point that came on a made free throw.
On the offensive side of the ball, Vintage was clicking on all cylinders as well. It was most evident when it came to scoring.
The Crushers were led by Eden Wood. The senior finished the night with a nice double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. She also converted 2 of 5 free throws in the game.
“She’s healthy too and that’s really big because we missed her more than half the season last year,” Donohoe said of Wood’s effort.
However, Wood wasn’t the only scorer with 10 points. Leire Riestra and Kayla Cleveland each added 10 points with three rebounds. Riestra made 4 of 6 foul shots as well.
Also adding the cause with a solid second half was Katy Gibbs who added nine points, including a three-pointer, and brought in four rebounds.
“I’m happy with where we’re at at this point in the year,” Donohoe explained. “We got a long way to go, but it’s a good starting point.”
It will be a short weekend for Vintage before they have another game. On Monday, they’ll travel to Walnut Creek to face Las Lomas at 7 pm. It will be the beginning of a 3 game stretch in 5 days.
