Lady Tigers Take down the Wolverines!

Captains Lucy and Bailey hob-nob with the Refs!

Ok, time for my sports writer gig! kinda fun, but not as much fun as watching Hodge grab an offensive rebound and put it through the hoop!

Well, last week was a good one for the Lady Tigers Basketball squad. They notched two more victories to bring their record to 19 and 1. On Tuesday January 25, they defeated the East Nicolas Trojans, and finished the week with a satisfying victory over a strong Biggs team. 43 to 35.

Lucy warms up against Biggs.

The Tigers came out hard and fast against East Nicolas, out scoring the Trojans 14 to 3 in the first period. By the half the Lady Cats were solidly in charge 31 to 11. However, East Nicolas wouldn't give up and came back hard in the second half playing nearly even through the third quarter. The Tigers helped keep the Trojans in the game by giving up 15 unforced turnovers in the second half. But it was to little to late for the Trojans to catch the cats as the Tigers held on to win 47 to 29. Emma Briggs led the team with 18 points, followed by Anna Roach with 12, Lindsay Compton with 5, and Bailey Holt with 4. Roach dominated under the boards with 10 rebounds, while Compton, Briggs and Marissa Wehrman grabbed 5 each.

The game on Friday at Biggs promised to be the toughest for the Tigers, as the Wolverines are the only team to hand Portola a loss so far this season. The first four possessions resulted in Tiger turnovers as the aggressive Wolverines pressured the Portola ball handlers. The girls gave up 10 unforced turnovers in the first 8 minutes. However, despite the imbalance of scoring attempts, the Lady Cats played excellent half court defense, and shot better than 60 percent from the floor to keep Biggs from breaking out to an early lead. At the end of the first quarter Portola was ahead 12 to 6, but by intermission their lead had been reduced to 18 to 14.

Hodge muscles a rebound from Biggs (Photo Deb Baer)

In the third frame, the Tigers held Biggs scoreless for the first 4 minutes, and opened up a 31 to 20 lead at the beginning of the fourth period. It was a very physical contest, with few fouls called as the Lady Tigers went to the charity line only 8 times during the contest, converting 9 out of 16 shots. Portola led by 12 with 5 seconds left when Biggs made a desperation 3 pointer to close the book at 43 to 35. Top scorers for the Tigers were Roach with 10 points, Briggs scoring 9, Lucy Wilbanks contributing 8, and Holt adding 7. Compton led the team in rebounds with 7, while Wilbanks gathered 6, and Roach and Briggs got 5 each. It was sweet revenge for the Lady Tigers, since the Wolverines beat them up badly, 64 to 46, in their fourth outing of the season.

Hodge continues to lead the team in rebounds with 115, and is fourth in scoring with 111 points. She started against Biggs. Oh man! Am I gonna miss watching my girls play high school sports? YES!!

That's All!