Vintage uses strong zone defense, gets season’s best game from Travers to edge Wood in nail-biter for first home win
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Good defense will always be key to winning. It may make the game more interesting than it should be but it can always be the difference in a game.
On Tuesday night at Crusher Gym, this is what the host Crusher girls did as they ground out a 40-35 victory over former Monticello Empire League rival Wood-Vacaville in a non-league contest.
One of the main reasons the Crushers (2-8) came away with the win was their zone defense, which kept them in the game all night. The zone did a good job of keeping the Wildcats (5-6) from getting shots around the paint. It also forced turnovers, which helped.
“I think that a big thing with our zone that we’re running this year is we have a lot of length, and using that to our advantage,” Vintage first-year head coach Hannah Newman explained of the zone. “We’ve made tweaks and practices from a few games ago and moving girls around and just kind of figuring out what works, and I think today it showed.”
There was no better time for the zone defense to shine than in the second quarter when Vintage held Wood to just four points in the frame to gain a 21-14 lead at the break.
However, the Crushers had to fight back from a deficit late in the game. They were able to do this with a 7-0 run, which tied the game up at 32 in the fourth quarter. This game was similar to a game back on November 23rd when Vintage had the game in hand against Dixon but ended up losing that game late.
“I think the Dixon game sticks in the girls’ mind a lot because that was a game that we could win,” Newman said. “We lost it on free throws and we lost it on turnovers. So tonight, we struggled with turnovers in the first half. Our whole halftime speech was, ‘We got to take care of the basketball. We’re not going to get another half where we get 20 turnovers. It’s just not okay.’ So I think that they were, you know, able to use what we’ve been doing in practice. We shoot a lot of free throws, and they run for all their misses. So they know like free throws are a big deal, and so I kind of like to think that that’s a little bit of that coming into play tonight.”
But maybe the main thing that helped Vintage secure the win in the game was the performance of junior forward Elinor Travers. She finished with a season-high of 19 points and 7 rebounds in the game. Coming into the game, she had been battling some injuries and had scored just 24 points total on the year. But she was able to drive to the bucket all game long, which set up opportunities to score.
“I can’t say enough good things about Elinor,” Newman said. “She had a rough start to the season. She was out probably for two, two and a half weeks. So I felt like this was the first game that she got her legs under her and was able to play to her potential. I’ve talked a lot with her this season that she has a big role on this team. We need her every possession, every play. I think she exceeded my standards tonight.”
Travers did most of her damage in the first half where she scored 15 points. More impressively, she scored 11 points in the first quarter. Travers also made 9 of 11 shots from the line in the game.
“I think that she’s a really smart player,” Newman added. “I think that she’s super versatile like we can pull her out, run five out, space out the floor, and let her attack those driving lanes. And then, I think that to her advantage, she’s long and lengthy. She’s really worked on her post moves, so finishing around the bucket has become easier. So she’s just realizing what her matchup is, seeing what works best for her, and tonight she found it around the basket.”
Finishing as the Crushers’ second-highest scorer in the game was Brookyln Perez. The junior guard finished the contest with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Perez made 5 of 10 shots from the line and a pair of layups in the game. She also scored 5 points in the second half.
“She’s just a great, a great person to have on the court,” Newman pointed out about Perez and what she brings. “I trust her 100% with our main point guard being out, she’s having to take over a bigger role. She’s meeting my expectations. She’s having to play a role that she’s not necessarily used to, but she’s thriving in. She’s the smallest girl out on the court but gets the most rebounds, probably every game. I think that that just speaks to her grit and toughness.”
Others scoring for Vintage in the game were Lauren Gerenser (6 points, 4 rebounds), Ashley Gerenser (4 points, 2 rebounds, blocked shot), Aranza Aguilar (1 point, 4 rebounds), and Noelle Rofkahr (1 point).
With the victory, the Crushers also snapped a 7-game losing streak that they were on coming into the game. It’s also their first win on their home court this season after playing what’s been a gauntlet of a non-league schedule, which has been compounded with injuries.
“I talked to the girls today, especially like this was a big turning point for us this season,” Newman said of the importance of the win to end the skid. “They needed to come out today, play hard, play tough, give it 100& on every possession. And they did, and they got rewarded with a win. We’ve struggled with injuries this whole season and so this is the first time we’ve had a majority of our team back out on the court together and getting to actually work together for once. So this is a big deal.”
It’s also been a learning experience for Newman who is in her third year with the program but in her first year as the head coach where all the key decisions fall on her.
“It’s been really challenging for me this season,” Newman said of the learning curve taking over as head coach. “But I wouldn’t want to do this with any other group of girls. I think that they give 100% on every play for me. We’re gonna win, we’re gonna lose, but just the momentum going forward, I have a great assistant coach that’s helping me out this season, that supports me, tells me when I’m wrong, and makes sure we’re on the right path. So that’s really awesome. I think the biggest change is just, you know, having these tight game situations on my shoulders and making sure we pull out on the other end. So that was a big win for us.”
The Wildcats held the lead briefly when they came out of the half and went on a 10-0 run to take a 24-21 lead that lasted till there was 1:40 left in the third quarter.
“Yeah, I think that we, we can get ourselves in foul trouble pretty quick,” Newman said as how the Wildcats took the lead in the third. “I have a young team, and the momentum shifts pretty strongly one way or the other. So when we’re low, we get real low. So it was a really big testament to the girls tonight, sticking together, sticking with the game plan, finishing it out, pulling it through, and getting a win on the other end. So yeah, I trust my players, I trust my coaching staff, and I just had to be comfortable with that tonight.”
Vintage will be back in action at the West Coast Jamboree that is all over the Bay Area going from December 27th to 30th. There will be no games on the 29th because CIF-sanctioned events are prohibited on Sundays.
