American Canyon hangs on despite Vintage’s second half comeback to win thriller
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
Twitter: @NapaKyle
In one-point games, there are so many things that coaches look back on and can only wonder and maybe think about the possibilities. Plus, they sting for a while.
On Saturday night, the American Canyon girls’ basketball team edged Vintage, 50-49, in a Vine Valley Athletic League thriller that was played at Crusher Gym.
In this instance, a rebound was all that was needed to win and following a missed free throw Wolves junior Keniya Bryant secured the rebound and put up a shot that went off the glass and in to give American Canyon the victory.
“I was just at the right place at the right time,” Bryant said of her game-winning rebound and bucket. “For a minute, I was like, ah, but then as I got the rebound, I was like, put it up, put it up, and I just put it up.”
Bryant ended the game with a team-high of 12 points, scoring 6 in each half.
“The biggest thing for Keniya is just her realizing that she gives us so much more than just the scoring,” American Canyon head coach Angela Davis said of Bryant’s importance. “Like she had to get the rebound first in order for that to happen. In order for the rebound to happen, she had to box out. So all those things play a part in her scoring that basket and she can consistently do that for us.”
Also, leading the way for the Wolves was the other co-leading scorer Jazmine Fontilla. The senior guard finished with 12 points as well. She scored 8 points in the first half and went 6 of 10 from the free-throw line.
“Jazmine is our point guard and she is our facilitator,” Davis said of Fontilla. “She makes us go she’s very good at getting everybody involved in the game and when her shot is not falling, she’s able to make the right pass at the right time.
Jordan Woodson was the final double-digit scorer for American Canyon. The do-it-all freshman scored 10 points in the contest. She was better in the second half where she scored 8 points.
“Jordan is a consistent player for us,” Davis continued. “She’s very good at rim protection. She had some not say blocks tonight, but her length changed some shots tonight for us. She got some critical offensive and defensive rebounds and she rolls really well to the basket.”
The Wolves (14-7 overall, 4-2 VVAL) were able to gain the advantage early in this game due in large part to their team speed helping them with their full-court press, which led to some open layups. Because of the press, they were able to lead the entire first half from tip to break and carry a 21-16 lead into the half.
“I feel like in the beginning, we were the aggressor on defense and our main goal was really to share the ball and not be selfish,” Fontilla said as to what the Wolves did early to gain the lead. “It wasn’t about just one player. It’s about being a team and sharing the ball and everyone got their touches on offense and defense. So I feel like we put that through throughout the whole game.”
However, Vintage (12-8, 4-2 VVAL) was able to battle back in the second half. They held the lead three times in the final two periods of play.
“We got some turnovers and got out and transition that led to some layups,” Vintage head coach Zack Cook said as to what his team did in the second half to gain the chance to win it in the end. “We finally started hitting some perimeter shots, which we’ve struggled with all year so that was what got us back.”
It also helped that some of the Crushers’ best players got going. Lizzie Qui finished the game with a high of 21 points and grabbed 2 rebounds. Qui was great in the second half where she scored 16 points while also making a pair of three-pointers.
“She was phenomenal,” Cook said of Qui. “The second half really hot from three attacking the basket defending and yeah, she really keyed the whole comeback for sure.”
Also having a nice night was Grace Geitner. The freshman center finished with a double-double of 15 points and 18 rebounds. She scored 10 points in the second half as well. Geitner was also 3 of 4 from the free-throw line.
Others scoring for Vintage were Rachel Galvin (7 points, 3 rebounds), Cienna Alvarez (4 points, 2 rebounds), and Ella Pridmore (2 points, 2 rebounds).
One thing that likely came back to hurt Vintage in the contest was the fact that they went 5 of 11 from the line.
“We missed some free throws and then they rebounded really well,” Cook admitted. “I don’t know what the stats were but they had a ton of second-chance points, and it was kind of just the way the night went and that’s how they ended up winning the game.”
Both teams will continue VVAL action next Tuesday night at 7 PM with contests in Napa to begin the second half of the league season. American Canyon will visit Justin-Siena. Meanwhile, Vintage will host Casa Grande.
In the previous meetings, Justin-Siena beat American Canyon 38-35 and Casa Grande beat Vintage 47-35.
Other VVAL games on Saturday night saw Justin-Siena beat Petaluma 49-47 in overtime and Sonoma Valley beat Casa Grande 46-38 to give the league a five-team tie for the league lead, with everyone at 4-2. Don’t even ask me about tiebreakers either. You can view the updated league standings here.
