Justin-Siena uses late first half burst to control game, get back in win column against Moreau Catholic to finish third in Christmas Classic
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
One way to get back to winning is to go back to the basics and play your game. It’s what a lot of teams do following a loss.
In Saturday’s third-place game of the 3rd annual Justin-Siena Christmas Classic, this is what the host Braves for as they beat Moreau Catholic-Hayward, 51-41, in a game played at the Daniel J. Clark Gym.
The Braves (7-1) took control of the game as the first half ended. They went on a 10-0 run to carry a 30-19 lead into the break. In the second quarter, they also outscored the Mariners 18-7.
“I thought we just really locked down defensively,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt said as to what he saw from his team that led to the win. “We got out in transition, we attacked the paint well, and from all those things came baskets and stops, and we were able to really put the game away at that point.”
Out of the break, the Braves scored to extend the run to 12-0. That all encompassed a good 16-4 scoring run for them to take control of the game.
After all, Justin-Siena was able to lock in on defense, which led to some transition opportunities.
It also helped that the Braves got the offense to run more efficiently than in their game on Friday. They also didn’t want to drop another game after the loss in the game Friday.
“I think one really crucial thing that our team has is the team bonding,” Justin-Siena junior guard Lauren Keller said as to how they were able to bounce back so easily from the loss. “We all really trust each other. We all really love each other. So I think we were able to brush the loss off.”
The Braves were also coming off of a very short turnaround, which made it easier to flush the loss as well.
“I thought the kids did a great job of bouncing back,” Bettencourt added. “Like you mentioned, it was a short turnaround. We had to just regroup and go right back to work, and I think that actually worked in our benifit. After a slow start, I thought we really took control late in that second quarter, and from then on, we felt like we were in control of the game.”
One of those benefiting from the offense running better was Keller who finished with a team-high 20 points and a rebound. She did most of her damage in the first half where she scored 11 points. In the contest, Keller also made 5 of 7 shots from the line.
“In the beginning of the tournament, I was a little bit frustrated with my offense,” Keller said. “Obviously, the shots I normally take that go in weren’t falling.”
Finishing with a double-double in the game was Jordan Washington. The senior center scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the game. She also had 12 in the first half on the way to being named an All-Tournament selection.
“One thing that’s really nice of Jordan is that we’re able to work off of each other,” Keller said of how her and Washington compliment each other. “I mean, I know a lot of teams focus on her, so whenever she’s getting crowded in the paint, she always looks for me on the outside, which is nice.”
Others scoring for Justin-Siena in the game were Naveena Jackson (9 points, 6 rebounds), Sophia Domminici (2 points, 1 rebound), Caiden Grimmer (2 points), and all-tournament selection Dylan Zapolski (2 points, 4 rebounds).
“Dylan was phenomenal last night. I thought she was phenomenal today,” Bettencourt said of Zapolski being an all-tournament selection. “We try not to grade our players too much on whether or not their shots go in. Dylan was all over the place today. She handles the ball against the pressure. She’s a great passer. She was physical. She won a lot of loose ball battles for us, she has really, really turned herself into a complete player, and it’s fun to watch.”
The Mariners (5-4) were able to rally a few times to keep the game interesting. One of those came in the third quarter when they went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 36-28. But that would be the closest they would get.
With the win, Justin-Siena takes third place in their event. In the other games of the day, Carlmont won via forfeit over Saint Mary’s, Arcata beat Monte Vista-Danville for the consolation title, and Clovis beat Cardinal Newman for the tournament title.
This was the third year of the event. But it’s the first time it was a girls-only event. The two years before both Justin-Siena teams hosted the event.
Before starting Vine Valley Athletic League play after the New Year, Justin-Siena will head down to the San Diego Surf N Slam, where they’ll play Forest Grove of Oregon at Christian High School on Friday at 1:30 pm in the Slam Division.
“Obviously, in San Diego, we’re going to be seeing a lot of competition that we don’t normally see,” Keller said of the Surf N Slam that goes December 27th through 30th. “The competition is good down there. I know that we’re going to be in a higher bracket this time, too. So I think it’ll be good for all of us to experience competition outside of Napa and the Bay Area.”
