[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
Lady Warriors defeat Cordova, look for playoff bid
|
File photo
Julie Bowden goes up against defenders in a SVC game last month. The Lady Warriors are in the midst of the SVC Tournament.
|
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
-
Three games will decide whether the Lady Warriors will move on to the next round of the postseason.
The Lady Warriors are looking to this week’s Sierra Valley Conference Tournament to see if they will earn a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, in which the top 16 teams in Division I girls basketball will participate.
The Lady Warriors, which were rated 21st in the Division I power ratings through Feb. 9 games, will most likely need several victories this week to get into the section playoffs.
Galt traveled to Oak Ridge High School for its first game in the SVC Tournament on Tuesday and will also have games on Thursday and Friday.
The Lady Warriors split games against Ponderosa and Cordova last week, bringing its overall record to 15-9 and its league record to 4-6.
Those records factored into the latest power ratings, which dropped them one game from the previous week’s ratings that were released Feb. 5.
Galt defeated Cordova 75-15 in the Lady Warriors’ final home game, which was also Senior Night.
The Lady Warriors held Cordova almost scoreless in the second half of Thursday’s game, as the Lady Lancers scored just two points in the third quarter and none in the fourth quarter.
Galt limited Cordova’s shooting opportunities, and stayed one step ahead of Cordova’s defense at the same time.
Galt averaged 22 points a quarter over the first three quarters of Thursday’s game, enabling the Lady Warriors to cruise to an easy win in their last regular-season game.
Sam Messersmith led all scorers with 19 points, Kim Briggs scored 10 points, and Kristen Lee scored nine points for Galt.
Galt’s seniors celebrated the night not only with the win, but with a pre-game ceremony honoring their achievements with Galt basketball.
Messersmith, Megan Bond, Julie Bowden, Kristen Lee, Megan Jones, Kim Briggs, and Erin Velguth were escorted by their parents or friends to the center of the court and given flowers by their teammates.
“They got to go out in their last regular season home game in style,” Galt head coach Brandon Fletcher said Thursday night.
“Senior night is always a special night. It’s for the girls who have put in the hard work for four years. The seven seniors that I have on my team, they put everything they have into the program and it was a good night for them,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher commented on the outcome of the game, which was the Lady Warriors’ second win over Cordova.
“They played well, obviously, looking at the margin of victory. We haven’t scored 75 points in a season. I give Cordova a lot of credit for coming out here and still playing hard,” Fletcher said.
The Lady Warriors will reportedly face Cordova again Thursday night in a home game at 6 p.m. in the second game of the SVC Tournament.
“We got a huge win,” Fletcher said of Cordova. “We need every win we can get right now if we’re going to try to make the playoffs. We’ve got three games left (counting the opening game of the tournament) and it may very well mean that we’re going to have to win all three just to make the playoffs.”
Galt’s Phillips invited to play tennis in Holland
Christina Phillips, a Galt High School freshman, has accepted to play tennis against players from all over the world in Holland this summer.
Phillips, a freshman who led Galt’s varsity tennis team under head coach Suzanne Stebbins with an undefeated record in 2007, was invited by People to People to be a sports ambassador and to receive training from international coaches.
The opportunity is invitation-only, and Phillips was chosen with the goal to represent the United States and to “take in the sport and cultural experience,” according to People to People’s Web site.
Phillips will receive training that will allow her to improve her technique and skills in tennis and she will play against other young ambassadors while taking in the cultural scene in Holland.
Phillips is actively involved in fundraising for the trip, which will take place July 19-29.
She is hoping to raise $6,000 for the trip, and is accepting donations to help fund the trip.
Sports ambassadors are chosen to help carry on People to People’s goal of “peace through understanding” and to achieve personal growth at the same time.
Those wishing to donate to Phillips’ trip can make checks payable to: Lena Phillips, 9595 E. Jahant Rd., Acampo, CA 95220.
Fourth-quarter scoring run by Cordova ends Galt’s night
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports-
What should have been a well-matched game between Galt and Cordova turned into a second-half blowout for Cordova in the teams’ last regular-season match, which the Lancers won 61-40.
The Warriors deflated in the second half.
Whereas in the first half Galt had managed to keep itself within decent range of Cordova, the fourth quarter saw a much weaker Galt effort.
Cordova went on a 14-0 scoring run that started near the end of the third quarter and lasted well into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors trailed 44-34 at the end of the fourth quarter and trailed 58-34 after Ethan Stone scored a basket in the fourth quarter.
Galt’s first basket didn’t come until Cole Rasmussen scored to pull Galt within 58-37.
Galt would score just one more basket, plus a free throw.
The Warriors kept the score close in the first half, always managing to stay within decent range of Cordova.
The Warriors trailed 18-12 at the end of the first quarter, and trailed 30-24 at halftime.
The Lancers outscored Galt by just four points in the third quarter, which put the score at 44-34 leading into the fourth quarter.
Cordova then went on its 14-point run, aided by second-chance points and defensive rebounds.
Friday’s match was a disappointment the Warriors, who lost a close game to the Lancers on Jan. 22 and seemed ready to even the two-game regular season series Friday.
Galt head coach Steve Box noted the difference between the two games.
“The first time we played them, we shot the ball, we took care of the ball, we were aggressive. I thought the kids were ready for that challenge,” Box said Friday.
“We got beat on the boards, they really took it to us inside, got a lot of easy baskets.”
Galt’s six-point offensive performance in the final quarter did not help the Warriors’ efforts to defeat the host Lancers.
“We came back down on offense and never got anything going. It’s hard when you don’t shoot the ball well and don’t take care of the ball well to beat a good team like that,” Box said.
The loss gave Galt a 1-9 league record and a 9-15 record overall.
As the sixth place finisher, Galt will travel to Ponderosa for today’s opening round of the Sierra Valley Conference Tournament.
Ponderosa finished the regular season with a 9-1 record in the SVC and swept its season series, 2-0 against the Warriors.
“We just have to keep our heads up and hope they get better at the tournament,” Box said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Oak Ridge, which finished second in the SVC, will face fifth-place Union Mine, and Cordova will face Christian Brothers in the tournament.
Four-point win over Cordova sends freshman Warriors out on top
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports-
Although their lead was cut to just seven points with 23 seconds left, the freshman Galt Warriors finished off Cordova to secure a 64-60 win in their last game of the season.
Tyler Glenn hit a free throw with 23.2 seconds left to give the Warriors a 64-57 lead.
Cordova then hit a three-point shot with six seconds left to make it a 64-60 game.
The basket was too late, however, as Cordova fouled Josh Barnhart and time ran out before Cordova had a chance to further close the gap.
The Warriors led nearly the entire game, and led by as many as 14 points when an Austen Wipfli three-point field goal gave Galt a 55-41 lead.
Galt’s strong offense throughout the game overpowered Cordova’s second-half offense, and the Warriors used Cordova turnovers and missed free throws to their advantage.
Galt led 42-37 at the end of the third quarter, and led 28-21 at halftime.
“I wanted to thank my team for giving me a wonderful season,” Galt head coach Steve Justice said after the game Friday.
“We were up by (14 points) and we just had some mental lapses where the kids thought they were going to win. They had some defensive breakdowns, along with some bad calls, but that’s basketball,” Justice said.
When asked about the close win, Justice said that his players kept their focus in the end.
“They managed to pull out the win and didn’t fall apart. They persevered and I’m proud of them,” said Justice.
Since the win leaves Galt hovering at the .500 mark, it is a positive for Galt players as they move on to JV next season, Justice said.
“It’s tremendous, because it gives us a lift for next season. The kids know that they have three more years of playing ball together and they’re capable of winning. We’re going to finish about .500, so it gives us some huge building blocks for the following year,” Justice said.
JV girls rout Cordova in final game to finish .500
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports-
It was probably the third quarter when the Galt JV Lady Warriors decided that they just might end the season with a win against Cordova.
The Lady Warriors built up a 34-point lead in the quarter, and ended up defeating the Lady Lancers 67-37 last Thursday in Galt.
Defense and offense combined to lead the Lady Warriors over Cordova and to end Galt’s season with a .500 record, according to head coach Mark Blasingame.
Galt started pulling away in the second quarter and at one point had a 23-5 lead at one point.
Galt’s offense really took off in the third quarter, however.
Galt scored 27 points in the quarter, while limiting Cordova to six points.
“Everybody got to play and it was just a fun night for all of us. Everybody scored, and that was cool for our last game,” Galt head coach Mark Blasingame said afterwards.
The third quarter push came from two large scoring runs.
The first was a 10-0 run in which Galt turned an 11-point advantage to a 42-20 lead, while the second was a 14-0 run that ended with a 56-22 lead at the end of the quarter.
Galt’s top scorers were Amanda Eckroth, who led with 19 points, Brooke Fletcher, who scored 11 points, and Colleen Moore, who scored eight points.
Blasingame said that Galt’s hard work propelled them to where the team is today.
“The kids as a group, they’re just a hard-working group. Through their hard work, they improved in every aspect of the game.
While Galt has improved overall, Blasingame said that defense was a key area.
“Our biggest improvement over the year is how we play defense. They play man-to-man defense much better than what we did at the beginning of the year,” said Blasingame.
“They’re all a great group of girls. They’re very close, all of them. Sometimes it’s not that way (referring to players’ chemistry with each other), but it was a pleasure to be around them,” said Blasingame.
|