American Canyon fights back to win overtime thriller over Justin-Siena, gain upper hand in VVAL race
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
It may be a myth or simply cliche, but it’s always been said that scoring first in overtime is key to winning the game.
However, on Tuesday night at the Daniel J. Clark Gym, the American Canyon girls’ basketball team scored first on the way to beating Justin-Siena, 55-51, in a Vine Valley Athletic League overtime thriller.
In the final four minutes, Wolves senior guard Jazmine Fontilla scored the first bucket which was a breakaway layup to give the visitors instant momentum.
“Scoring that first bucket definitely got us all in the game,” Fontilla said of the first bucket in the final four-minute period. “We all felt like we had that extra push, we had that chance to keep fighting and don’t give up in overtime. So the first bucket was really important.”
In the overtime period, the senior guard scored 8 of her team-high 22 points to play an instrumental role in the victory for American Canyon. Fontilla also scored the first five points for American Canyon in the extra time.
“The whole game, I really wasn’t scoring or anything,” Fontilla explained. “I feel like my head wasn’t in the game. But overtime gave me a second chance and I knew I had to do something. I knew throughout the whole game, I was passing the ball contributing in that way, but I knew I had a score and overtime. So that’s what I did.”
Fontilla also scored 20 points in the second half of the contest while also making 3 of 4 shots free throws. The senior also made just one three in the contest, but it was in the extra period of play.
“She is our facilitator,” American Canyon head coach Angela Davis said of Fontilla. “She’s able to be on the floor and make the right pass at the right time and when needed to step up and score, make the right decision whether that should be a drive or whether that should be a pull-up. She’s our go-to person and we trust her with the ball to make the right decisions. If the shot is not available to her, we know that she’ll give it to the appropriate person.”
In the overtime, the Wolves (15-7 overall, 5-2 VVAL) outscored Justin-Siena 11-7. They were able to go on a 5-1 run in the final two minutes which ended up being the margin of victory.
American Canyon was also able to start the game fast as they vaulted out to a 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. That included an 8-0 run to end that period.
However, the Wolves also had to fight back to even get to overtime. In the fourth quarter, they outscored the Braves 14-11 to earn another four minutes of play.
“I believe our girls are at a point where they believe in themselves,” Davis said. “Sometimes, we’re just rushing and turnovers happen, and sometimes we miss assignments. But we have truly bought into when we play well as a team defensively – offensively, the ball will find the right person.”
Also having a nice game for American Canyon was Jordan Woodson. The freshman finished with 13 points in the contest to help the cause. She scored 10 of those points in the second half as well. The guard made a three-pointer while also going 2 of 3 on from the line.
Others scoring for the Wolves were Kamiya Bryant (5 points), Jeraline Haney (4 points), Camille Abcede (4 points), Kamaya Jones (3 points), Tyra Flemming (2 points), and Adja Querubin (2 points).
Justin-Siena (10-10, 4-3 VVAL) had their chances to win this game as well. After all, they were able to gain their largest lead of the game out of the half when they went on a 9-2 run that made it 30-22.
“I thought we came out with good focus in the second half,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt said as to how his team was able to get a nice lead. “But even getting that lead, I had a feeling that they would come back. This is just two very closely matched teams, and it’s a game of runs in basketball. Then they went on theirs. Unfortunately, we had a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter, and we just couldn’t close it out.”
Leading the way for the Braves was Jordan Washington. The sophomore center finished with a game-high of 23 points with 7 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. She scored 15 points prior to halftime while also making 5 of 9 free throws.
“If Jordan’s not the best player in this league, she’s one of them,” Bettencourt said of Washington who went for 20 points in her second straight game. “There’s no doubt she just continues to get better. And quite frankly, she still has so much room to grow as a player. So I think she’s really finding herself and I think her teammates do a really good job of getting the ball in good situations. So we were excited to have her obviously on our side and look forward to her continuing to get better.”
Having a nice game was Lauren Keller. The freshman guard finished will 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. She was at her best in the second half where she scored 9 points. Keller also made 6 of 7 free throws.
“Just a tough competitor,” Bettencourt said of Keller. “She’s really improved her shot and nobody knows the work that that kid puts in. She’s put in a ton of work this season, not at practice to continue to get her shot better.”
Others scoring for the Braves were Mary Heun (9 points, 4 rebounds), Bella Balmaceda (6 points, 2 rebounds), and Megha Jackson (2 points, 1 rebound, 1 block).
Both teams will continue VVAL play this week. American Canyon will have their league bye Thursday before visiting Casa Grande on Saturday night. As for Justin-Siena, they will visit Vintage on Thursday night at 7 PM.
In the last meetings, Vintage beat Justin-Siena 34-15 on January 5th, and American Canyon beat Gasa Grande 41-34 on January 10th.
In other VVAL action on Tuesday night, Casa Grande beat Vintage 40-37 and Sonoma Valley beat Napa 68-14. You can view the updated league standings here.
