Justin-Siena goes on two huge runs to get big lead, has three double-digit scorers to beat American Canyon
By Kyle Foster
Follow on X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
A fast start can get the opponent on their heels fast. It can also make the team with the lead play with ease and really do their bread and butter very well.
In Thursday night’s key Vine Valley Athletic League game at Clark Gym, this is exactly what the Justin-Siena girls basketball team did as they beat American Canyon, 59-35.
The Braves (17-3 overall, 6-0 VVAL) started the game on an 11-0 run that lasted till there was 2:42 left in the first quarter. This gave them an immediate edge and was fueled by a bunch of points off of turnovers as well.
“It’s always the goal to get off to a fast start,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt said. “We really talk a lot about setting the tone with our energy and our intensity and our focus and that’s something that we’ve really talked a lot about this season. It’s something I don’t think we were that great at the beginning of the season. So it’s been a focus something we talked about something we really stress.”
After that, Justin-Siena then followed with a 10-2 run to begin that second quarter that pushed their lead to 18 and all but put the game away.
Yet another reason why the Braves were able to dominate this one was the fact that they spread out the scoring very nicely, which made them very hard to defend.
Leading the way for Justin-Siena in the game was Jordan Washington who finished with a game-high of 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots on the way to a double-double game. In the second half, she caught fire as she scored 16 points. Washington also made all 7 shots from the line in the game.
“In the beginning of the game, I was really tentative to go up, and I was just passing the ball more,” Washington said as to what led to a monster second half.
The sophomore duo of Lauren Keller and Dylan Zapolski each finished with 14 points each. Keller had 4 rebounds while making 4 of 6 shots from the free-throw line. She scored 10 points in the second half as well.
As for Zapolski, the corralled 3 rebounds in the game. She also scored 11 points in the first half. The sophomore sharpshooting guard also made four shots from beyond the arc in the game, one of which came in transition.
“It’s really just confidence that my teammates and coaches have in me,” Zapolski said of her confidence to knock down the shots from deep. “The fact that they have the confidence in me to take that shot and cheer me on make or miss is really what helps me take it.”
Fast-break threes are something that Justin-Siena hasn’t had in a while. It’s something Bettencourt is also very happy to have.
“It’s awesome,” Bettencourt said of getting threes in transition. “And the first day on varsity, the first thing I said to Dylan was ‘Your job is when you’re open, you shoot it.’ She has done a really good job of embracing that. We’ve really worked hard with her that even if she misses, she needs to keep shooting.”
Rounding out the scoring for Justin-Siena in the game was Naveena Jackson (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Nadia Sousa (2 points, 5 rebounds).
The Wolves (14-6, 3-3 VVAL) were never really able to get going in the game. Each time it seemed as if they were starting to get some momentum going in the game, the Braves would go on a run to keep them at bay.
It also didn’t help that they only had one scorer in double digits either. Leading the way for American Canyon in the game was senior guard Kamaya Jones. She finished with a team-high of 12 points. She scored 7 points in the second half and made a pair of shots from beyond the arc in the game.
Others scoring for the Wolves in the game were Jordan Woodson (7 points), Ysabelle Locquiao (3 points), Axja Querubin (3 points), Tyra Flemming (2 points), and Keniya Bryant (2 points).
Both teams will begin the second round of league play in the coming days. American Canyon will have the league bye on Saturday before hosting Casa Grande on Tuesday at 5:30 PM. Justin-Siena will host Vintage on Saturday at 1 pm.
In the first meeting, Justin-Siena beat Vintage 68-38 on January 3rd. American Canyon beat Casa Grande 57-37.
In other VVAL games on Thursday night, Casa Grande beat Vintage 46-21 and Sonoma Valley beat Napa 56-23. You can view the updated league standings here.
