Vintage uses second half offense, tough defense to beat Livermore and stay unbeaten

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By Kyle Foster 

Kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

When you play tough defense and do everything else just enough, it’s going to give you a good chance to win the game. 

On Saturday afternoon in Crusher Gym, this is what the Vintage girls basketball team did to defeat Livermore, 43-35, in a non-league contest. 

Vintage (3-0) was in control from the jump of the contest. But they did have their lead cut down to three and four points at a few points in the game. They were able to put the game away by using their trapping defense, which forced turnovers and got some breakaway layups. 

“I think the one thing that we can definitely hang our hats on is that our team’s tough, like they’re built strong,” Vintage head coach Hannah Newman said. “They play till the very last second of the game, and so I think they just knew (it’s) mental toughness. We do a lot of end-of-game scenarios. Last week, we practiced it. So it was kind of nice that it came in handy. So I think just like them, having the confidence in themselves and then being able to just play through it.” 

Another reason the Crushers were able to get the win was the fact that they got their offense going in the second half. They did this by getting a lot of looks around the rim in the half-court. 

However, carrying the offensive load for Vintage in the game was senior guard Luna Aguilar Loera, who finished with 13 points and 3 rebounds. She scored 7 points in the first half and made one three-pointer in the game. 

“Huge amounts of growth on the court, off the court,” Newman explained of the senior guard. “She’s finding her voice, which is really good being a leader on this team, and then I think as a player, we’ve had a rough go of it the past few years, and we always talk that like we knew it would pay off. Talking to my two senior returners, we knew it would pay off eventually, and it feels like they’re seeing it. She’s able to get a basket anytime she wants, and it’s just really good to see her healthy and playing on the court.” 

Also scoring in double figures for the Crushers was sophomore Ashley Gerenser. She scored 10 points and brought down 4 rebounds. She was one of the main beneficiaries of the offense getting going in the second half, where she scored 8 points. Gerenser also made 1 of 4 shots from the free-throw line in the game. 

“Yeah, I think that Ashley is a phenomenal athlete,” Newman added. “Sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re not, you know, you just got to play through it. And it’s tough because she’s young. She’s only a sophomore, you know what I mean? Playing with the confidence she can do it and does it, and it just really helps when you see a shot go in. So once she saw one go in, she knew, she knew she had the hot hand.” 

Samantha Kennedy was also key in the second half. She scored all 6 of her points in the game during the second half and grabbed 5 rebounds. 

Others scoring for Vintage in the game were Sophia Bonetti (7 points, 1 rebound), Kennley Price (5 points, 1 rebound), and Riley Morrison (2 points, 2 rebounds). 

Vintage will be back in action on Tuesday at 5:30 pm when they host Berean Christian.