Justin-Siena seizes control early thanks to pair of first half runs, cruises past San Rafael to end Christmas Classic
By Kyle Foster
Follow on X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Throughout the season, there will be some games that are just easy victories. This is great because it not only means everyone gets some time to play, but it also makes a coach’s life a lot easier. A laugher is needed every once in a while.
On Saturday afternoon at Clark Gym, this is what happened as the Justin-Siena girls’ basketball team rolled past San Rafael, 57-16, in their finale of the Christmas Classic that they hosted for the 2nd time.
The Braves (8-2) wasted no time seizing control as they were comfortably ahead in the first quarter thanks to a 10-0 run that lasted till there was just 2:38 left in the first quarter. This run gave them an early 11-point lead.
After that, Justin-Siena kept their foot on the gas pedal as they pushed the lead to 21 thanks to another 12-0 burst. This effectively signaled that the game was all but over in the first half of play.
“We talk a lot about it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, we want to play to our standard,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt said of the nice start from his team. “I thought the girls did a really nice job of bouncing back from a tough one on Thursday night and playing to our standard. It’s really important if we want to continue to get better and continue to improve and put ourselves in the best position to succeed down the stretch in (the) league and in playoffs that we play to our standard every time we step on the floor for practice or game.”
It also helped that in the first half junior center Jordan Washington was unguardable the whole game when she was on the court. After all, she sat the majority of the second half with the game already in hand. In the first quarter alone, she scored 12 points before finishing with 14 total in the game. She also had 9 rebounds, one short of a double-double, while also blocking a shot.
However, it was sophomore guard Dylan Zapolski who led the Braves scoring in the game. She finished with a team-high of 15 points with 1 rebound. She scored 9 points in the first half before making a pair of threes out of the half. She also made all 4 free throws.
Rounding out the scoring for Justin-Siena was Lauren Keller (9 points, 4 rebounds), Paige Helms (7 points, 3 rebounds), Madyson Carson (4 points, 4 rebounds, blocked shot), Neveena Jackson (3 points, 7 rebounds), and Jesilyn Beaulac (2 points).
So far this season, the Braves have been a good free-throw shooting team, which has also helped them get off to a great start to the season. In the game on Saturday, they made 7 of their 8 shots at the line.
“They’re better shooters, and they’re better shooters because they put their time in,” Bettencourt said as to why his team is a better free-throwing team this season. “These kids, every single one of them worked so hard on their game. They spent time in the spring, they’ve spent time in the summer. In the fall, they’re working by themselves. They’re just getting shots up and good shooters are those that shoot a lot, right? We’re really proud of where we’re at shooting-wise.”
Overall in the Christmas Classic Justin-Siena finished with a 2-1 mark. Despite the loss on Thursday, it was still a solid weekend. They had beat Monte Vista and lost to St. Patrick-St. Vincent in their other games.
The Braves will have the next few days off with it being Christmas before heading to San Diego for the San Diego Surf N Slam tournament. That tournament will go from December 27th through 30th. Justin-Siena is in the Girls Slam Division. You can view that bracket here.
