Women’s basketball takes down Clayton Valley in first state tournament game
By Kellen Browning,
Bluedevilhub.com Editor–
The Davis High women’s varsity basketball team made a strong second half performance to outscore Clayton Valley Charter 52-36 in the first game of the CIF State Championship tournament on Wednesday, March 11.
The game, which was held in the large North Gym at DHS in anticipation of a large crowd, saw the Ugly Eagles outscore the Lady Blue Devils 16-13 in the opening quarter. Davis was unable to contain Clayton’s 5’10 center Hailey Pascoe, who got by the Devil defense to score eight points in the first period.
The second quarter saw the Lady Blue Devil offense come alive, with junior point guard Anna Belenis nabbing some key steals and drawing several fouls to score three free throws. The defense clamped down on Clayton Valley as junior Rachael Allison added four points to help outscore the Ugly Eagles 15-6 and take a 28-22 halftime lead.
As head coach Heather Highshoe noticed, the team’s baskets just weren’t connecting very accurately this game. But that didn’t stop the Lady Blue Devils from trying. Even on a poor shooting night, Davis added another 13 points in the third quarter, including two baskets in a row for senior center Emma Stenz, who led Davis with 16 points overall.
And Davis’ third quarter defense forced a number of turnovers and completely shut out Clayton Valley, which failed to connect from the field until 49 seconds remained in the period. The Ugly Eagles made 6 free throws but saw the Blue Devil lead stretch to 41-30 going into the final quarter.
Clayton tried to make a fourth quarter comeback, and had plenty of chances to close the gap thanks to some DHS turnovers. But the Ugly Eagles couldn’t connect from the perimeter, and the closest they got was 45-35 before seniors Caitlin Mazzoleni (nine points) and Katie Grahn (seven) pulled the Lady Blue Devils away.
Stenz capped an 11-point quarter with a long two-pointer and a three, and Davis let the clock run out to finish with a comfortable 16-point win.
Highshoe attributes the victory to a strong collective effort.
“I thought that this was a great overall team performance,” she said. “Everyone stepped up when shots weren’t falling, when anything was happening, people were there to clean up after one another.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s matchup against McClatchy, the number one seed in the NorCal section of the playoffs, Highshoe expects a “very fast-paced, physical, quick game.”
Mazzoleni says that in particular DHS will have to combat McClatchy’s 6’2″ senior center Destiney Lee.
“They have a really large post, so I think we’re gonna have to drive at her and get her in foul trouble so that they have to sit her down,” Mazzoleni said.
The game kicks off at 5 p.m. at McClatchy High School. The Athletic Department plans to bring DHS fans to the game in a bus, which leaves at 3 p.m. from the stadium parking lot. Permission slips from the office are required.
