Justin-Siena jumps out to early lead, utilizes full-court press to beat Vintage in league opener
By Kyle Foster
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A good defense can surely make offense easier. The game of basketball was practically made for them to go hand-in-hand.
In the Vine Valley Athletic League opener on Wednesday night, this is what the Justin-Siena girls basketball team used as they beat Vintage, 68-38, in a game played at Crusher Gym.
The Braves (11-3, 1-0 VVAL) were also able to pull away thanks to the use of their full-court press which sped up the game and forced turnovers. After all, they carried a 34-11 lead into the break after leading by just 10 through a frame. They also went on a 10-0 run in the second quarter to bump the lead to 20.
“It was something we’ve been working on,” Bettencourt said of the press and how it’s been helping them. “It’s something that we think because of our length and athleticism we can use in certain spots. I thought the kids did a really nice job today of scrambling. Ultimately a press forces the other team to play faster, and I thought we were able to force some mistakes by speeding them up.”
Yet another thing that helped Justin-Siena come away with the win was the play of Jordan Washington. The junior center finished with a game-high of 19 points to go along with 6 rebounds and a blocked shot. She made her lone free throw and scored 10 points before halftime.
“Jordan is starting to find some consistency, which is really good,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt explained. “This is three straight games where I think she’s slowed down a little bit and been a little more square to the basket when she finishes. When she’s doing things right and she’s squaring her shoulder, she’s really tough to stop.”
Maybe another reason why Justin-Siena is a bit hard to defend is the fact that they can stretch a defense very easily. Sophomore guard Dylan Zapolski added 16 points in the game, 11 of which came in the first half. Her ability to keep teams honest makes it hard to stop the offense, especially when Washington is cashing in on everything from the paint.
“Dylan’s just a really good shooter and she’s just overall a really good player,” Bettencourt said of the sophomore. “I think as she gets more comfortable, you’re going to continue to see scoring outputs like tonight, she just keeps getting better and better.”
Lauren Keller finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds. She did most of her damage before the break with 7 of those while going 1 of 2 from the free-throw line. The sophomore brings a key ability to be able to drive the ball to the basket and get to the line.
Others scoring for the Braves were Nadia Sousa (7 points), Naveena Jackson (6 points, 4 rebounds), Madyson Carson (4 points, 5 rebounds), Lydia Heil (2 points, 1 rebound), and Paige Helms (3 points, 1 rebound).
Justin-Siena is also a very young team so getting a road win in a place that hasn’t been the kindest to them in the history of the league is a great way to start. This was just the second win they have gotten at Vintage.
Meanwhile, Vintage (2-10, 0-1 VVAL) didn’t give up after they got down in the first half. In the second half, they played a much tighter game to prevent it from going into a running clock game.
“I just saw our girls scrapping and fighting like they do from start to finish in every game,” Vintage first-year head coach Randy Pridmore said. “We lack a little bit of depth. We know that. I don’t think we had a real good first quarter tonight, we were a little out of sorts to begin the game.”
In the first half, they were able to hang around in the first quarter thanks to some good defense.
Another thing that helped was Elinor Travers. The sophomore forward finished with a team-high of 12 points and 5 rebounds. She scored 8 points before the break and made 4 of 5 shots from the line.
“She’s just been real great this year,” Vintage assistant Hannah Newman said. “She’s finally felt comfortable out on the court, so it’s been really good for us.
“She’s really starting to realize what she can do on the court,” Newman continued. “She’s a great player. She’s a great kid.”
She was the main beneficiary of the pick-and-roll game, which got her easy layups while also sending her to the line.
Others scoring for the Crushers were Giselle Castillo (6 points, 2 rebounds), Lauren Gerenser (5 points, 3 rebounds), Brooklyn Perez (4 points, 3 rebounds), Noelle Rofkahr (4 points, 1 rebound), and Caelyn Diskin (2 points, 1 rebound).
Both teams will continue league play on Friday at 5:30 pm. Justin-Siena will return home to face Napa High. As for Vintage, they’ll travel to Petaluma.
