Redwoods uses run at end of first half to beat Napa Valley

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By Kyle Foster

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

When you play sloppily, the results won’t be good. It also doesn’t help when a team is flat on top of that. 

On Thursday afternoon at Storm Gym, College of the Redwoods took advantage of this to beat Napa Valley, 61-47, in a non-conference game.

The Corsairs (1-0) controlled this game from the start. They quickly began the game by going on a 6-0 run. They also took a 31-20 lead into the break by going on a 10-0 run, which ended the first half. 

All night long, Redwoods was able to take advantage of turnovers and second-chance opportunities. They put the game out of reach with a third quarter in which they outscored NVC 19-9. 

“I mean, they’re a well-coached team ready to play,” Napa Valley College head coach Paul DeBolt pointed out. “It’s their first game of the year. It’s our fourth.  We didn’t really get a chance to scout them.

The Storm (2-2) were able to get back into the game in the first quarter by breaking off an 8-0 run to go up 14-11. They did this thanks to simplifying the game and playing good defense, and making shots. 

“It’s funny, you’d say that, because to me, it’s more we were playing better defense, we were getting stops, and we were making shots,” DeBolt explained of the run that got his team in the game after a slow start. “So it’s when we don’t get stops, when we don’t get defensive rebounds, when they give them multiple shots in a possession, we get in trouble. I mean that three-minute period, four-minute period in the first quarter, we were playing really good defense, and we were making shots.” 

It didn’t help that Napa Valley was also 8 of 19 from the free-throw line in the contest. They did a good enough job of getting to the line, but couldn’t capitalize. On top of this, they only made one three-pointer in the whole game. 

“We just laid an egg,” DeBolt added. “I don’t know what else to say. We just didn’t play well.” 

Leading the scoring effort in the game for the Storm was Jazmine Fontilla. The sophomore finished with a team-high of 10 points. She scored 6 points in the second half and converted 2 of 4 free throws in the game.

Fellow sophomore Ashley Torres finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds. Torres scored 6 points in the first half of the game while going 1 of 2 at the line. 

Others scoring for the Storm in the contest were Layla Butler (8 points, 5 rebounds), Marticia Pollard (6 points, 7 rebounds), Arianna Aguilar (5 points, 2 rebounds), Jazelle Bolton (4 points, 1 rebound), Camille Abcede (2 points, 2 rebounds), Amya Sims (2 points, 2 rebounds), and Briana Alday (1 point, 2 rebounds). 

Though NVC is 2-2 to begin the season, they have had an up-and-down start. In their wins, they’ve won by 20 or more points, but in their losses, they’ve also done this. This means they’ve been a real boom-or-bust team at the start. 

“The different skill level of who we’re playing,” DeBolt pointed out. “So the better teams have heard us, the weaker teams haven’t. So it’s pretty much status quo. I thought we were pretty evenly matched with Redwoods going into this game. It didn’t turn out that way, but I think we really are. We just didn’t play up to how we can play, and I give them credit. They played pretty well.” 

After a crazy 4 games in 6 days stretch to start the year, Napa Valley will have a week off before hosting Sacramento City on Thursday at 7:30 pm.