Redwood pulls away late to get past Vintage
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Normally when you get down by double-digits, that can be hard to overcome.
However, on Wednesday night the Vintage girls’ basketball team made a valiant effort at overcoming the steep deficit in their 61-52 loss to Redwood-Larkspur.
The game was a battle with neither team able to gain much of an edge. But in the third quarter, Vintage (6-4) was able to put just six points up. That’s not an ideal way to formula when it comes to winning tight games.
“I don’t know. It’s was a good game. It was a competitive game,” Vintage head coach Joe Donohoe said. “ It was pretty much a two, three-point game back and forth the whole way.”
Yet, when the final frame started the Crushers came to life. They were able to move to a tie the game with a 13-2 run with just 4:34 left.
“We got back in our half-court 13 (press), and they were moving their feet and they were flying around,” Donohoe pointed out. “They definitely played it with a little bit of higher energy than they had previously. We needed it. We just couldn’t sustain it.”
Redwood (3-7) was able to put the game away thanks to their clutch shooting down the stretch in this one. One thing that was significantly better, but could’ve made the game even more interesting was free throws. The Crushers knocked down 15 of their 23 shots from the foul line, which could’ve made the game even more interesting down the stretch.
Once again leading the way for Vintage was Leire Riestra. The junior scored 19 points on the night, 16 of which came in the first half. The second quarter was where she really shined when she scored 13 points, 9 of which came from beyond the arc. She also went 2-for-4 from the line and brought in seven rebounds.
Also pitching in with a solid effort was Lizzie Qui. The junior guard finished 10 points and brought in four boards.
Kate Kerr also had a solid night finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. She converted both of her shots from the line as well.
Olivia Hedberg and Eden Wood both finished the night with 6 points. Hedberg got all of her points from the free-throw line and brought in a rebound.
The Crushers will finish up their non-league portion of the schedule after Christmas when they head to the West Coast Jamboree. They’ll complete in the Ivory bracket where all games will be played at Granada High School in Livermore. They’ll open up against Alameda at 7 pm Tuesday. You can view that West Coast Jamboree bracket here.
After that, they’ll begin VVAL play on January 3rd against American Canyon at 7 pm.
