Quincy Girls Defeat Portola

Bad news fans! Last Tuesday we dropped a home game to Quincy. The only consolation was that all the other teams (JV Girls and Boys, and Varsity Boys) won big.  Our girls were very tight, and could not make their shots (19%), even from the free throw line (4 out of 23). It was difficult writing a story for the paper with Quincy as the victor! This is what I wrote, not sure how much it will be edited.

Lucy and Bailey return to warm-ups
after the pre-game briefing with the refs.

On Tuesday February 8, the Quincy Girls Basketball team defeated the Portola Lady Tigers 47 to 34. The loss was the second in a row for Portola, and a sweet victory for the Lady Trojans. The Portola girls ended the week on an up-note however, beating the Williams Yellow Jackets 58 to 29 in Williams.

The Tigers faced the Trojans on Tuesday night in a crowded and noisy home gym. The game was intense from the beginning, with the Trojans outscoring the Tigers 14 to 11 in the opening act. Quincy's Senior Forward Korey Cline was unstoppable, netting 10 of her team's 14 first period points. The Lady Tigers turned up the heat in the second frame, with Senior guard Ellie Kibble hitting a jumper at the buzzer to even the score at 22 apiece. Portola struggled at the charity line during the first half, making only 2 of 8 tosses and missing an opportunity to take the lead into the locker room.

Lucy wrestles the ball away
from Quincy

Both teams came out determined in the second half and added 8 points each to play to a 30 to 30 tie by the end of the third period. In the final stanza, the Lady Trojans slowly pulled ahead and with about 3 minutes remaining held an eight point lead. The Lady Cats once again failed to capitalize on free throw opportunities, hitting only 2 of 13 attempts. Trojan Senior center Ashlee Nieman turned in a brilliant second half, scoring the bulk of her 19 points to keep Quincy ahead. As the game clock ticked down, the Trojans smelled victory, and continued to increase their lead over an ever more frustrated Tiger squad. The Red and White came out on top by 13 at the final horn, 47 to 34.

Free throw shooting was a significant factor in the outcome. The Lady Cats scored just 4 points in 23 trips to the line, as the Trojans shot 11 out of 19 for a net advantage of 7 points. In addition, while the Tigers minimized offensive turnovers, Quincy neutralized the powerful Tigers rebounders.  Leading the scoring for the Trojans were Nieman draining 19, Cline putting through 15, Senior guard Brittany Wilcox netting 7, and Senior forward Katie Barnes contributing 4. Scoring was widely distributed for the Lady Tigers with junior forward Marissa Wehrman tallying 7, Emma Briggs and Kibble scoring 6 each, Anna Roach putting in 5, and Lucy Wilbanks and Bailey Holt hitting 4 apiece.

Lucy pulls down a rebound
against Williams. Think she was fouled?

(I didn't add rebounding stats since I did not have any for Quincy. However, Lucy was the number two rebounder on the Tigers with 7, and more offensive rebounds than anybody!)

At Williams on Friday, the Portola squad notched its fifth league victory against no losses by swatting down the Yellow Jackets 58 to 29. The Cats leaped out to a 26 point lead by intermission, 35 to 9. However, the Jackets got tougher in the third period, gaining 2 points on the Tigers. Senior point guard Abby Cranford drained several three pointers to keep Williams from loosing ground.  It wasn't enough however, as Portola pulled down a season high of 56 rebounds, and drained 11 of  18 charity tosses. The final score of 58 to 29 gave the Lady Cats a 22 and 3 record overall, with a 5 and 0 record in the Mid-Valley South League.

Top scorers for the Cats were Briggs tallying 14, Wehrman and Roach sinking 9 apiece, Wilbanks putting through 8, and Senior center Camry Housel netting 6. As for the battle of the boards, high rebounders were Kibble snagging 12, Wehrman collecting 10, Wilbanks grabbing 9, and Bailey Holt pulling down 8.

The Portola girls play their final game of the regular season this Friday, February 18 at home against East Nicolas.

Well, Lucy stayed in Sutter with her Boyfriend's parents after the Williams victory. Yesterday, Kim and Luise went to Reno, so I was by myself with the animals. Beautiful weather, but a lonely day.

That's All!!