Justin-Siena stays the course, cleans up turnovers in second half to beat American Canyon in first-place VVAL battle
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
There are times when you have to match the other team’s level and take a punch to get going. But once this happens, a team can take over.
In a battle for first place in the Vine Valley Athletic League, Justin-Siena was able to do this to beat American Canyon, 60-43, in a game played at Daniel J. Clark Gym Tuesday night.
The Braves (16-2, 6-0 VVAL) gained control of the game in the third quarter when they handled the ball much better. In that period, they also got numerous wide-open looks around the rim that they hadn’t gotten in the first half.
“We knew coming in they’d be ready for us, and that’s a well-coached team,” Justin-Siena head coach Andy Bettencourt said. “I thought in the first half their speed, they sped up the game really well, and we didn’t respond well. We did a lot of things where we weren’t valuing the basketball. At half time, we reiterated what we had talked about before the game, which was valuing the basketball and defensively, trying to stay solid and contest shots.”
In the second half, Justin-Siena also matched the physicality to what was needed to win.
The main beneficiary of all of this was Lauren Keller who finished with a game-high 21 points and 8 rebounds. She scored 11 points in the second half and made 4 of 5 free throws in the game on the way to a career-high night in scoring. The junior also made one shot from deep in the game.
“We play multiple sports together volleyball and beach volleyball, so it’s like we have really good chemistry on the court,” Justin-Siena senior center Jordan Washington explained of her chemistry on the court with Keller. “But she’s just an amazing player to play with.”
Washington finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots in the game. The reigning VVAL Player of the Year also scored 12 points in the second half and was perfect at the line going 4 for 4.
“It helped a lot because we kept getting steals so I was able to just run the floor,” Washington said of all the scoring she had around the bucket in the game. “My teammates were looking for me, so they would just look up and just throw it to me and that helped. And I also decided to be more physical in the paint and to go into the person instead of just like fading away.”
Yet, this isn’t something new. The two play so well off of each other and complement each other’s game so well.
“Honestly, the way those two play together, it’s so much fun (to watch),” Bettencourt said of the duo that leads the way most nights. “It makes our job as coaches easier because they really do play so well together. They play off each other, they root for each other, and it’s just a joy to watch.”
Others scoring for the Braves in the game were Naveena Jackson (7 points, 9 rebounds), Taylor Stoppello (6 points, 3 rebounds), Dylan Zapolski (4 points, 1 rebound), and Caiden Grimmer (2 points, 2 rebounds).
American Canyon (14-6, 5-1 VVAL) stayed in the game early by utilizing their full-court press and speeding up the game.
However, foul trouble also did them no favors when they tried to speed up the game against a very experienced team.
“That’s the game plan. We wanted to speed them up because they will turn it over,” first-year American Canyon head coach Michael Evans pointed out. “If you can speed them up, get in the passing lane, they will turn it over. But what started happening once we got in foul trouble, we got into our zone, and they were beating us down the floor. So that’s what happened too. So the whole game plan is what you saw for the first maybe quarter and a half. That’s how we got to play (for) four quarters.”
The Wolves were led in the game by Jordan Woodson. The junior forward finished the game with 14 points. She scored 8 points in the second half as well.
“She has been just a dream for offense,” Evans said of Woodson and how she leads the team on offense. “I mean she grabs a rebound, she can take it coast to coast. She can finish either hand. So we know we have somebody who’s gonna score 14 to 17 points (a game).”
Others scoring for American Canyon were Zoe Sangalang (7 points), Alayah Harris (5 points), Essie Okpalaugo (4 points), Ysabelle Locquiiao (3 points), Ke’yani Bryant (2 points), Sierra Bermudez (2 points), and Nayonni Mitchell (1 point).
Both teams will start the second round of league play on Friday at 7 pm. American Canyon will visit Casa Grande and Justin-Siena will host Napa.
In other VVAL games on Tuesday, Sonoma Valley beat Napa 60-17 and there was no score reported in Vintage-Casa Grande.
