The crosstown rivalry never gets old.
Even with the crowd at Harold Youngblood Gymnasium limited to family members, the energy on the court and in the stands was palpable as Vacaville High hosted Will C. Wood in girls basketball Tuesday night.
The Wildcats, fueled by some fierce defense, prevailed, 61-49, to improve to 3-2 in Monticello Empire League play, while the Bulldogs fell to 3-2.
It looked like Wood might run Vacaville out of the gym in the opening minutes. Running a zone trap, the Wildcats forced the Bulldogs into several turnovers and raced to a 10-1 lead. But Vacaville fought back with tough play inside by Callie and Brynlie Headrick and a 3-point shot by Amanda Plowman and trailed by just one point, 12-11, by the end of the quarter.
Vacaville stayed aggressive on offense in the second quarter and went to the free-throw line ten times, making seven. Guard Audrey Valenzuela, who finished with a team-high 19 points, was particularly effective slashing to the hoop and drawing fouls.
Wood’s Genesis Hamilton did the same, drawing fouls and hitting all four of her free throws in the second quarter. She was supported by fellow guard Christina Edwards, who hit a three-point shot and a two-pointer in the quarter. Vacaville led 24-23 at the half.
With the teams not using the locker rooms due to COVID, both teams took halftime on the bench. Wood head coach Carly Wudel used the time wisely.
“One of our goals at halftime was rebounding and turning up the intensity on defense,” she said. “Once we do that good things happen. We talked a lot about not letting the other team take us out of our game. It started on the defensive end.”
Her troops got the message, creating turnovers and converting them into buckets as the Wildcats sprinted to a 33-28 lead after a Vacaville miscue led to a Hamilton layup with 5:10 left in the third quarter.
Hamilton and Edwards led the defensive charge on the front end for the Wildcats.
“She (Hamilton) and Christina Edwards did a really good job of just applying constant pressure the whole game,” Wudel said. “They had each other’s back. We really played together as a team and I think particularly it showed in the first couple of minutes and then definitely in the second half.”
Hamilton, who led the Wildcats with 21 points, punctuated the third-quarter effort with a three-ball with 55 seconds left which helped her team close the stanza with a 42-32 lead.
Wood came out smoking in the fourth quarter, blitzing the Bulldogs with a shot by Kayla Gibson, a bucket from the foul line by Jazmine Langi, a basket by Natalia Sanchez and another bucket by Langi after she rebounded her own missed foul shot to give her team a 50-36 lead with 6:35 remaining in the game.
The Wildcats hung on against a spirited comeback effort by the Bulldogs led by Valenzuela, who had nine points in the frame, but it was too little too late.
Sanchez, a freshman, had a big impact on the game defensively and with her passing.
“She is starting to find her stride with us for sure,” Wudel said. “She just brings the energy. She is just a sparkplug and she fires the rest of us up, which is really cool to see, especially as a freshman. She did the right things on defense for sure.”
At 5-foot-9 and with a long wingspan, Sanchez frequently broke up Bulldog passes. She seemed to always be in the right place at the right time and showed a deft passing touch as well. She said that coming onto varsity as a freshman has been a challenge.
“It is kind of nerve-wracking but I feel like I am getting more comfortable each game we play,” she said. “Everyone is super encouraging and super motivating… I feel like I’m more comfortable on defense. I just have to get used to driving to the basket more and shooting more.”
“I feel like she fits right in with us,” said Edwards of Sanchez.
Edwards talked about the defensive approach that she and Hamilton took.
“She is like my partner in crime on defense,” Edwards said. “We usually run it a little bit and beat people in transition. They were getting back on defense really quickly, so it kind of stunted us a bit. And then we figured it out. We started pressing. Gen and I went up on a fullcourt man and it kind of tripped them up and we got steals and put it right back up and they didn’t have time to get all the way back on defense.”
Edwards, who scored 14 points, is small of stature but fearless taking it to the well.
“When someone is backing up on you then you shoot,” the junior said of her offensive philosophy of the fast break. “If they are up on you, go past them.”
Langi finished with nine points for Wood, and Athena Brombacher added eight.
Brynlie and Callie Headrick scored 11 and eight points for the Bulldogs, respectively.
In the junior varsity game, Vacaville prevailed, 58-36.
The Bulldogs were led by Kelsey Collins with 18 points, Allyssa Shafer with 16 and Nicole Taylor with 10.
Wood’s high scorers were Lucia Alexander with 13 points and Dira Howard with 9.
Vacaville is 4-0 in MEL with two victories apiece over Vanden and Wood.
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Will C. Wood defense is key in girls basketball win over Vacaville - Vacaville Reporter
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