Vintage uses full-court press to jump out to early lead, spread out scoring to beat Napa, and continue Big Game winning streak
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
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There are a few things in basketball that don’t require skill. Those are defense and rebounding.
On Friday night in the first Big Game girls’ basketball of the season, Vintage was able to play lockdown defense as they beat Napa High, 42-7, in a game played at Messner Gym.
Right away in the game, the Crushers (4-12 overall, 1-3 Vine Valley Athletic League) gained control of the contest. After all, they went on a 14-0 run that lasted over two quarters. This made it to where they never trailed.
One of the main reasons they were able to get the advantage was their full-court press, which forced numerous turnovers and resulted in easy layups. Sophomore guard Brooklyn Perez was the main beneficiary as a result.
“I think that’s her strength,” Vintage first-year head coach Randy Pridmore explained. “But she can shoot too. She has a nice jump-stop shot. But you probably notice she’s a very quick kid. She’s by far the fastest girl on our team and that’s where she just utilizes her speed on both ends.”
Another reason why this game was so important to win for Vintage was the fact that they were riding an 8-game Big Game winning streak entering the game. That streak is now at 9.
“I’m super proud of the girls and yes, it’s definitely important to keep that winning the Big Game tradition going on,” Pridmore said after getting his first Big Game victory as head coach after watching his daughters Riley and Ella win in the last 8 years. “Super proud of and they’ve been working all year. This group’s never gonna quit. They’re always going to continue to put into work. That’s what I respect about them most.”
It was also important for the Crushers to get over the hump and win a league game after coming up just short a few games ago against Petaluma.
Leading Vintage in the game was Perez. The sophomore guard finished with a game-high of 15 points and 2 rebounds. She scored 9 points in the second half and made both free throws.
“It was nice to see Brooklyn put the ball in a hole because Brooklyn, I would say is and I hate to point an individual out, but she’s probably our best and hardest defender,” Pridmore said of the sophomore guard. “She never quits. The girl is just relentless. She’s very fast and she just plays that relentless in-your-face defense. So it was nice to see her tonight put the ball in a hole because my MO is and what I’m always gonna put my emphasis on is defense and she is at the forefront of our defensive players. So it makes me very happy to see her get that going on the offensive end too.”
Maybe the most important thing Vintage did well in this one was to spread out the scoring. Other than Perez, no one else scored in double-figures.
“If we’re going to win games, it’s going to be by balance,” Pridmore said of the spread-out offense. “We don’t have what you would say a superstar player on this team and that’s fine. So we have to work as a team.”
Rounding out the scoring for Vintage in the game were Lauren Gerenser (9 points, 1 rebound), Elinor Travers (5 points, 5 rebounds, blocked shot), Luna Aguilar (5 points, 3 rebounds), Caelyn Diskin (4 points, 5 rebounds), Riley Morrison (2 points, 4 rebounds), and Savannah Polijanec (2 points, 2 rebounds).
As for Napa (3-14, 0-5 VVAL), they had a hard time ever getting their offense going. The chances were there early on in the game to keep it tight. But this just never happened.
Scoring for the Grizzlies in the game were Arianna Ordonez (3 points, 3 rebounds), Lily Gonzalez (2 points, 5 rebounds), Wendy Martinez (1 point, 5 rebounds, blocked shot), and Elizabeth Castaneda (1 point, 2 rebounds).
Both teams will continue league play next week. Vintage will travel to American Canyon at 5:30 pm on Tuesday night. Napa will have the league bye on Tuesday before visiting Sonoma Valley on Thursday at 5:30 pm.
In other VVAL scores on Friday night, Justin-Siena beat Sonoma Valley 35-31.
