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Lady Warriors fall victim to Ponderosa’s second-half offense
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Photo by Paige Lampson
Sam Messersmith takes a shot Friday against Ponderosa defenders. The Lady Warriors have lost their last two games after losing two of their top players to injuries.
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By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
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Injuries are typical during an athletic season, and the Lady Warriors are currently going through their share.
Senior guard/forward Erin Velguth was injured before the Warriors’ game against Union Mine on Jan. 11 and did not play last week against Ponderosa, leaving Galt without one of its top players.
In Galt’s game against Christian Brothers on Jan. 16, junior forward/center Jena Blasingame was injured within the first few minutes of the game, taking away a player who led Galt in blocks and was second in rebounds and assists last season.
With a shortened roster, and one of its key players in foul trouble, the Lady Warriors dealt with a larger task than usual Friday, and lost to Ponderosa 55-40.
Despite the disadvantages, Galt remained close to Ponderosa in the first half, trailing by just four points.
Scoring runs by Ponderosa in both the third and fourth quarters widened the gap between the two teams, however, leaving Galt behind by a sizeable amount.
A six-point scoring run by Ponderosa left Galt behind 34-24 just over halfway into the third quarter.
Ponderosa then went on an eight point scoring run in the fourth quarter that left Galt trailing 50-33 with 4:18 left.
Galt trailed by just three points in the first quarter and trailed 22-18 at halftime.
Galt head coach Brandon Fletcher noted the shortage of players due to injuries, a number that was increased Friday when Sam Messersmith committed several fouls in the first half.
“When we went to Union Mine, we didn’t have Erin, but we played decently. Then we go to Christian Brothers and Jena gets hurt in the first quarter about two and a half minutes in,” Fletcher said after the game.
“Our energy level dropped a bit and we’ve been trying to pick it back up.”
Senior center Julie Bowden, who was hit in the face during the game and left briefly, came back into the game and scored the Lady Warriors’ first three baskets in the third quarter.
Bowden led the Lady Warriors with 12 points, Natalie Oelsner scored 11 points, and Kim Briggs scored four points.
“We faced a lot of adversity in the first half. Sam picks up two fouls, which definitely hurts our rotation,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher noted Ponderosa’s intensity in the paint, a factor that the Lady Warriors hadn’t dealt with this season against other opponents.
“We didn’t rebound at all tonight. They (Ponderosa) played phenomenal, that team plays very physical. They pounded us inside, which no team has done to us before. We’re going to have to look at that issue, and look at the rebound issue,” Fletcher said.
The Lady Warriors also lost against Christian Brothers 70-51, on Jan. 16.
With back-to-back losses in mind, Fletcher said that Galt will be trying to back in its rhythm this week.
The Lady Warriors will face Cordova tonight in Rancho Cordova, and Oak Ridge Friday.
“Regrouping is reorganizing. We’re trying to work on getting back in sync. We played a real good game against Oak Ridge. That was the last game that I thought we played pretty well,” Fletcher said.
Harrison verbally commits to baseball scholarship at Sacramento State
Galt High School senior Brent Harrison accepted a baseball scholarship offer from California State University, Sacramento on Jan.12, enabling the two-sport athlete to continue to play in a sport in which he has excelled.
Harrison, 17, was offered the scholarship after attending Sac State camps in January and December and taking a tour of the campus Jan. 12.
At a nationwide camp at Sac State in December, Harrison “went out there and threw 80-90 miles per hour,” Harrison’s father, Sam, said Monday afternoon.
After joining the El Dorado Hills Vipers, a traveling baseball team, over the summer Harrison went to Arizona and received exposure at the Junior Olympics, according to his father.
Sac State coaches took notice and offered to guide Harrison through the recruiting process, according to Sam Harrison.
Harrison, who also plays on Galt’s varsity basketball team, has stayed conditioned through the year with the help of off-season workouts and playing in multiple sports.
Harrison is thinking of pursuing studies in criminal justice.
Fifteen-year-old black belt finishes second at World Junior Championships Open
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports-
Marc Evangelista pauses to reflect on his trip to the World Junior Championships Open, held Jan. 5-6 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“We got to see a lot of cool stuff,” Evangelista said last Monday while taking a break from taekwondo practice at Robinson’s Taekwondo in Galt. “We got to see where the athletes train.”
Evangelista, 15, placed second in the featherweight division at the World Junior Championships Open and qualified to compete for a spot on the U.S. Taekwondo Junior National Team, which will compete at the 2008 Junior World Taekwondo Championships in Turkey.
Accompanying Evangelista were Dominic Hilaman, age 14 years (Galt), Nadia Vasquez, age 13 years (Galt), Mike Francisco, age 14 years, and instructor Fred Estrada.
All four athletes came together from various Robinson’s locations to train and practice at the Robinson’s Taekwondo School in Galt under head coaches and instructors Estrada and Taren Ogata, according to Estrada.
Vasquez lost in a tough first round match to an eventual bronze medalist from Iowa (11-4).
The second day of competition, Francisco lost a close first round match to Illinois (2-1).
Hilaman outscored his first round match to Florida (8-1) and came short in his second round match (3-1).
“When I started, it was more learning self-defense, and then when I got older, I got more into it,” Evangelista said.
Evangelista was one of 80 to qualify for the trials finals, which will pare the field of 80 down to 20 athletes in Des Moines, Iowa on April 4.
The Elk Grove teen defeated three black belts to earn his second-place finish.
Evangelista defeated Bryan Bothwell 10-3, Cody Ross 5-9, and Alex Zuniga by withdraw, before losing to Jensen Ishida, a former Junior National Team Member from Hawaii, by Superiority in the championship round.
He attended the meet with three other athletes from Robinson’s Taekwondo, and the four students were part of the initial field of 228 competitors that were whittled down to 80, according to USA Taekwondo’s Web site.
The group was able to attend the World Open thanks to the support of local businesses in the community, said Estrada.
All four athletes expressed thanks to Savemart in Galt and the local community for their support in help of funding the team on its journey to the Open Championship, Estrada said.
Evangelista has been competing in taekwondo since he was eight, and currently practices between 4-5 times a week and goes to lessons five times a week.
Evangelista, who attends Monterey Trail High School, said he would like to compete in taekwondo in as many places it takes him, if possible.
“I’m going to try to go to different countries, go to different states and compete,” Evangelista said.
JV Warriors earn narrow win over Ponderosa
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports-
Galt earned a close win over Ponderosa Thursday evening, defeating the Bruins 53-48.
The Warriors got past a late tie with Ponderosa and regained their lead to overtake the Bruins at Warrior Gym.
With the score tied 41-41, Josh Dela Cruz completed a three-point play to put the Warriors ahead, 44-41.
Ponderosa then scored to close in on Galt’s lead at 44-43.
Haran Piggee then scored to put the Warriors up by three with 2:15 to go.
Abram Piggee then scored for a 53-48 Galt lead.
Ponderosa was fouled with less than 30 seconds left, and hit both of its free throws to come within three points of Galt.
Jake Middleton then hit both free throws after being fouled with 4.4 seconds left to secure Galt’s lead.
Ponderosa held a small lead going into the second half, and Galt started to work on trimming that lead as soon as the third quarter began.
Galt tied the game at 26-26, then took a 29-28 lead near the end of the quarter.
The Warriors ended the third quarter with back-to-back baskets that put them ahead 35-30 going into the fourth quarter.
Tuesday
Galt changed what had been a significant Christian Brothers advantage into a big, second-half run last Tuesday, and defeated the Falcons 73-57 inside Warrior Gym for its second win of the Sierra Valley Conference season.
Galt trailed by 10 points at halftime, but made its comeback in the third quarter.
Haran Piggee led off the second half with a basket to make it 38-30, Christian Brothers.
Jake Middleton was then fouled, making it 38-32.
A Josh Dela Cruz steal and subsequent basket brought the Warriors within 38-34, and Felipe Gallegos then scored to bring Galt within two points of Galt with 6:50 left in the quarter.
Dela Cruz then tied the score with a basket to make it 38-38 and to conclude Galt’s 10-point run.
Christian Brothers added to Galt’s fire by committing a technical foul that led to two Middleton free throws.
The two points were part of another significant scoring run for the Warriors, one that lasted 12 points and ended with a 54-40 lead.
The quarter ended with Galt ahead 56-42, a lead that increased in the final quarter.
Galt continued its offensive success in the fourth quarter, and scored five straight points to erase Christian Brothers’ closest deficit total in the fourth quarter, which had been 11 points with 1:23 left.
The five Galt points came on foul shots that gave the Warriors a lead with 30 seconds left.
Dela Cruz led Galt with 23 points, Middleton had 16 points and Haran Piggee had 14 points.
The Warriors’ next game is Tuesday at home against Cordova.
Warriors aim to turn new page in second half
By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports-
Galt’s freshman Warriors are looking for a solution to their second-half blues.
The Warriors had a solid first half and went through a scoring drought in the second half against Ponderosa last Thursday and ended up with a 39-22 loss in their fourth game of the season.
The Warriors kept up with Ponderosa in the first half, and trailed 17-11 at halftime.
In the third quarter, however, Ponderosa started to pull away.
Ponderosa finished a nine-point scoring run from the second quarter through the third quarter, giving the Bruins a 21-11 lead.
After Sam Grone made a free throw with 6:19 left in the quarter, Ponderosa then scored eight straight points to take a 29-12 lead.
The Warriors were held to seven points in the quarter and did not fare much better in the fourth quarter.
Galt again scored seven points in the fourth quarter. Offensive fouls, turnovers, and missed shots hampered the Warriors from scoring additional points.
Ponderosa, however, seemed to grow tired in the fourth quarter, and was limited to six points.
“I’ve been really stressing communication. We’ve had a lot of guys open under the hoop and they just don’t see it,” Galt freshman coach Steve Justice said after the game.
“A lack of communication and no recognition on offense, and we’ve got to be a little more patient when we have the ball,” Justice said, when asked what contributed to the Warriors’ offensive struggles in the second half.
Ryan Glenn led Galt with six points, Tyler Glenn scored three points and Grone scored three points for the Warriors.
“In the first half, we had our defense going, and we’ve got to get our confidence back in the second half. To be able to do that, we’ve got to play a complete game,” Justice said.
Tuesday
Defense, or a lack of it, spelled all kinds of trouble for Galt last Tuesday.
Christian Brothers stole, blocked, and rebounded its way to a 63-43 win at Warrior Gym, making the most of it second chance shots.
The Warriors got off to a solid start, ending the first quarter up by one, 12-11.
The Falcons’ defense took over the second quarter, however, and Galt found itself down 34-23 at halftime.
A six-point Galt run near the end of the third quarter got Galt back into the game and left the Warriors down by seven going into the final quarter.
A basket by Austen Wipfli in the fourth quarter brought Galt to within 41-36 with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Consecutive Galt defensive errors resulted in a basket by Christian Brothers several possessions later, beginning the Falcons’ climb in points.
Christian Brothers then bumped the score to 52-39 after a steal allowed back-to-back baskets by the Falcons.
Josh Barnhart and Jason Lowery both led Galt with 11 points, Austen Wipfli scored eight points, and Tyler Glenn scored six points.
Galt’s next game is tonight at Warrior Gym against Cordova.
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