Looking Back

A few weeks ago, before the girls first basketball playoff game against Durham, I got pretty nostalgic and started writing down a few thoughts. Here they are:

Sitting here before the start of Lucy's first playoff game. This could be her last high school basketball contest. I can't help but think back to her third grade year. She and her sister Maggie played co-ed basketball. I was the coach, and our team was called the "Orange Crush". We had a lot of fun that year, and actually won most of our games. Thinking back I remember most how my two little girls looked out on the court. Sneakers and shorts, with orange t-shirts down to mid thigh. Blond hair in braids. They stood out on the court, looking a little shy, and a lot confused. Taking their cues from the other kids as to which way to run. They hardly ever got to touch the ball, and when they did they passed it as quickly as possible. The boys were much more advanced, and pretty much avoided passing to a girl if at all possible. I am not sure, but Lucy and Maggie probably didn't take more than a shot or two if any, all season. I taught all of the kids the most important thing you had to do to score, was "to take a shot". Most of the girls shot air-balls well short of the rim or backboard. At practice we played games like "monkey in the middle" to develop passing skills and reflexes. I worked hard to teach all the kids "good habits" at least. They might not master any of the skills for several years, but at least they were moving in the right direction.

After the season, Maggie decided basketball wasn't for her, and she devoted future winters to skiing. Lucy, well she decided on basketball. So it was on to 5th grade, and an all girls team. I volunteered my way onto the coaching staff. The other two "Dad" coaches didn't give me a specific role, so I focused primarily on Lucy making sure she understood the concepts, and giving her feedback on drills. I felt kind of guilty, so I made it a point to help other kids as well at practice. I was a "gopher" for the other two coaches, and did my best to help them out where I could. Lucy was a joy to work with! She didn't have the knack that some of the other girls had, but she showed an inner determination and desire to improve her ability on the court.

We worked a lot together at home on dribbling, free throws, and layups. After 8th grade, I emailed the man (Brian West) who would be her junior varsity coach during her freshman year in high school. I asked what Lucy and I could do to help prepare her for high school ball. "you can't go wrong with ball handling drills" he replied. So every chance we got, we would work on ball handling in the garage, on the driveway, and even in the house. Next year at JV try-outs, Brian commented on her improvement since 8th grade. "Wow! She must have really worked on her ball handling." And she had. Hard work became her trademark. She was always listening hard at practice, working hard to do it right. She had two tremendous years on JV. As a sophomore, she started winning awards and recognition. She made the go ahead free throw in the final seconds of one game. Despite her success, she has always had a tough time letting the recognition in. At the end of her sophomore year, she was moved up to varsity for the playoffs. She did great in three playoff games before losing to Durham (the team we are playing tonight). Her highlight was against arch rival Quincy. She scored 5 points and grabbed 5 rebounds as the Tigers clobbered the Trojans, 70 to 46. Wow, was I a proud Dad. Things looked bright for junior year.

Things don't always work out the way we think they will however. Lucy struggled her junior year. The team was wracked with drama as the coach moved up a freshman and a sophomore to join the slug of Juniors and seniors. By the end of the season, we were all glad to be done. Lucy wasn't sure she would even play as a senior. But after a successful volleyball season (she was selected as an all-league middle hitter) she decided to give basketball one last season. And what a season.

Lucy started on and off the entire season. Most of the time she was the "sixth player" and got quite a bit of playing time from the bench. At the beginning of the season, I decided to keep stats for the team. Not only so Lucy could see the concrete results of her efforts, but also so all the kids could gage their individual success. At the end of the season, Lucy was number one rebounder, and the team's number four scorer even though she wasn't in the starting five. This game tonight against Durham will be very tough. They are a very well coached team, and it looks like our star player is not going to play due to medical issues. We'll see how the team rises to this challenge.

Well, the book is closed on this game and Portola moves ahead in the playoffs! Lucy started, and the girls played very well together. Their defense was especially good. I think it is a real plus to have won this game without their leading scorer. I think the team learned something about themselves tonight. As far as Lucy's game, she was on fire. I have never seen her play better. She didn't score her highest, but her defensive play and rebounding were superb!

So I started this trip down memory lane thinking that I was about to witness my daughter's last high school game. Well, I was a bit premature. As those of you that follow my blogging know, the Lady Tigers went on after putting down Durham to whip Quincy, and qualify for the section championship by defeating number one seeded Colusa. The team then went down to the Hamilton City Braves in the title contest, and lost a close one to Vacaville Christian at home to end the season. So, five playoff games later, it ends, and a new part of the journey begins. Lucy has enrolled at Sonoma State University in psychology. She will be leaving home next August to take on this new challenge in life. I won't be there to watch over her, and make sure she understands the concepts and give her feedback on her efforts, I don't have to be. I think she'll remember that the most important components to success are to work hard and "take the shot!"

That's All!

Lady Tigers Go Down Fighting to Vacaville Christian

Well, 25 regular season games, and 5 post season matches, and basketball is finished at the Wilbanks house. Lucy and her team mates went down fighting hard to a team from Vacaville last Tuesday night. Very cool that we got to play in our home gym. The game was pretty close, and if we could have made a few more free throws, and layups we would have beaten them. But....then we would have had to drive down to East Palo Alto (4 hours at least) and definitely get our butts kicked! So...this was actually a very good way to finish a great year for Lu! Below is my article for the Portola Reporter.

The Portola Lady Tigers basketball team lost at home to the Vacaville Christian Lady Falcons on Tuesday March 8, 50 to 57. It was the first round game of the California State Championships. The Falcons are the Sierra Delta League runner-ups, and  are ranked 42nd in California Division V. Portola, Mid-Valley South League Champion, is ranked slightly lower at 47. The game promised to be a barn burner, and the fans were not disappointed.

Both teams came out hard and aggressive in the first frame with their trapping full court press defenses. The Falcons got the better of the defensive pressure forcing 11 turnovers by the Lady Tigers in the first period. Most of these turnovers translated into points for Vacaville. However, the Cats managed to keep pace, starting the second act behind by just one, 10 to 11. The Tigers kept having trouble holding onto the ball in the second quarter, as the Falcons continued to swoop in on errant passes. After 16 first half turnovers, the Purple and White trailed by 9 at the break: 18 to 27. The Lady Tigers came out strong in the third stanza. In spite of repeated turnovers, Portola fought back by turning up their own defense, and dominating both the defensive and offensive boards. By mid way through the third period the Cats had pulled to within two buckets. However, it didn't last long as the Falcons continued to make short runs, capitalizing on purloined passes, and an occasional uncontested three pointer, to finish the quarter with a comfortable lead of 29 to 39. The Tigers were not ready to concede however, and pulled to within three several times during the fourth quarter. Finally, with about one and one half minutes left to play, the Cats were forced to start fouling in a last ditch attempt to catch the Falcons. However, Vacaville's free throw shooting was almost perfect as the game clock inexorably ticked down. The Lady Tigers kept attacking up to the last second as Senior Guard Bailey Holt drained a three point rainmaker to cut the deficit to 7 points at the final horn. The Portola girls closed the book on their last game of a long and successful season on the short end of a 50 to 57 score.

Leading the scoring for the Lady Cats was Sophomore Emma Briggs tallying 18, Senior Anna Roach netting 9, Senior Ellie Kibble notched 6, and Junior Lindsay Compton contributed 5. In the battle of the boards Briggs snatched 12 rebounds, while Senior Lucy Wilbanks wrestled away 10, Roach gathered in 8, and Junior Marissa Wehrman and Compton collected 6 each. "We had a great run this year" said Coach Matt Compton. "This is a special group of girls, and I have really enjoyed working with them."

The Tigers are losing 5 seniors to graduation this year. These girls have been playing together since the fifth grade, and have really bonded on the court. Captain Bailey Holt, made plays at the point for the Tigers all season. Holt was the Lady Cats second most effective thief, picking opponents pockets 80 times in 30 games. She also finished number 5 in scoring, netting 130 total points. Co-Captain Lucy Wilbanks led an extremely strong bench for Portola. Wilbanks was tough and effective under the glass, leading the team with 171 rebounds, and playing all 30 games. Offensively, Wilbanks contributed the fourth highest point total for the Tigers, racking up 142 total counters. Center Anna Roach battled injuries early in the season, but fought back to finish strong as number two in scoring with 186 total points. Roach finished with the second highest team rebounding total, frustrating opponents by grabbing 163 boards. Ellie Kibble anchored the Tiger's wing, and finished the season with 113 points. Kibble also nabbed 50 steals from opponents, and dished out 25 assists to her team mates. Center Camry Housel came off the bench making many crucial contributions to the team over the course of the season. Housel made numerous key plays both offensive and defensive. Against Los Molinos at home, the Tigers were struggling until Housel sunk 4 of 6 from the field, grabbed 5 rebounds and 3 steals to turn things around. "Next year we have a lot of good talent returning" said Compton. "I am sure we will be very competitive, but we'll sure miss these senior girls!"

Well, for sure I will miss watching my senior girl battle away on the court. I have some introspective basketball thoughts, but I'll save those for another post.

That's All!!

Lady Tigers Upset Colusa in Semi Final

Lu sets a screen as
Ellie drives for the hoop

Well sports fans, the Tigers strike again! They played a fantastic game against number one seed Colusa to make their way to the Championship game against Hamilton at Chico State's Acker Gym. Lucy played well against Colusa, but her efforts didn't show up in the stats. Her defense was ferocious, and she finished up most of the fourth quarter sitting out with 4 fouls. In the final, the girls played hard against Hamilton, but couldn't overcome their powerful team. Here's the sports story I wrote for the Portola paper.

The Portola Lady Tiger cagers upset the top seeded Lady Redskins 63 to 51 in the Northern Section Semi Final game on Tuesday March 1, in Colusa. The victory advanced Portola to the Northern Section Championship in Chico. There they fought hard, but lost to the powerful Hamilton City Braves in the title match 56 to 35 on Friday March 4.

The under dog Tigers traveled to Colusa determined to knock off the tournament favorites in front of their home town crowd. The gym was packed at the tip off as the noisy Redskin fans cheered beneath signs urging their team to "skin the tigers"! Portola came out fighting and matched Colusa bucket for bucket for several offensive sets until the Lady Redskins started to take control midway through the first period. By the end of the first act the Cats were trailing by 8, 21 to 13 and the home town fans were ecstatic. However, in the second period the relentless Tiger defensive attack began to pay off as the girls forced numerous Colusa turnovers, and capitalized with a running, driving offense outscoring the Redskins 14 to 8 to pull to within 2 points at intermission.

Lucy takes on Colusa's big center.

The Cats turned up the heat in the third period, outscoring Colusa 20 to 11 to take a handy 7 point lead into the final frame. The play was hard and aggressive as the fouls mounted on both teams, with several players from both sides playing with 3 and 4 personal fouls. As the clock ticked down, the Tigers steadily increased the lead by draining nearly all of their foul shots as the Redskins desperately tried to get back in the game. When time expired, the scoreboard showed the Lady Tigers on top 63 to 51. It was the best performance by the Portola girls all season.

Hodge rips a rebound away
from the Redskins

Sophomore Emma Briggs had a great night, leading Portola in scoring and rebounding with 26 points and 5 boards. Briggs also hooked 5 steals. Junior Lindsay Compton had her best game of the season, shooting 4 out of 6 from the field, and draining 8 of 11 charity tosses to tally a total of 16 points. Compton also nabbed 3 steals, blocked two shots, and grabbed 4 rebounds. Senior Center Anna Roach netted 8 points and gathered 3 rebounds, while Junior Marissa Wehrman tallied 7 points and pulled down 3 rebounds.

On Friday night, the Tigers traveled to Chico State followed by a full rooting bus to take on the highly rated Hamilton Braves in the Section Championship. The Cats jumped on the court at Acker Gym with their claws out, surprising the Lady Braves who had handily defeated the Tigers during the regular season. Portola fought the Braves toe-to-toe throughout the first period ending up down only 2 as the first period ended with a score of 16 to 14. Briggs was red hot in the first frame, scoring 10 of the Tigers 14 points, with Senior Lucy Wilbanks and Freshman Rachel Wehrman adding 4. However, the Braves came back with a vengeance in the second, outscoring the Tigers 17 to 7, to take a healthy 33 to 21 lead into the locker room. In the third period, the Lady Braves continued to increase the lead, and the fourth period started with Hamilton ahead, by 18, 48 to 30. The Lady Tigers kept fighting however, but the shots weren't dropping as they had in the first period. At the final horn, the Tigers were on the south side of a 56 to 35 score.

Scoring for the Tigers was Briggs with 15, Seniors Bailey Holt and Anna Roach with 6 apiece, Senior Ellie Kibble, Wilbanks, and Wehrman with 2 each, while Junior Lindsay Compton and Sophomore Kaitlin Boyd added 1 each.

The Lady Tigers hosted the Vacaville Christian Falcons in the first round of the Division V State Championship tournament on Tuesday. No scores were available at press time.

So, the Falcons are ranked 42 in California Division V, and the Tigers are tabbed at 47. We have a better record (25-4) than they do (20-10) but they look like a powerful team. It is very exciting that we don't have to travel, so we are all looking forward to screaming our heads off this Tuesday night!!

That's all!!