Women’s basketball tourney hopes dashed in loss
By Kellen Browning,
Bluedevilhub.com Editor-in-Chief—
The Davis High women’s basketball team fell 73-35 to Salesian College Prep in the second round of the 43rd Dorothy Speck Tourney on Friday, Dec. 4.
Matched up against the fast-paced team from Richmond, Calif. —which beat state champion McClatchy in a game last season—the women knew instantly they were in for a tough fight.
Straight out of the gate, Salesian pressured the Blue Devils, forcing turnover after turnover and making easy layups on the other end.
DHS kept pace in the opening period, pressuring Salesian defensively and holding them to just three points in the final four minutes. Sophomore Kelsey Forrester, who finished with seven points, capped the quarter with a three-pointer and DHS trailed just 15-11.
“I thought that we came out extremely hard,” head coach Heather Highshoe said. “I’m hoping that we can soon find a way to play four quarters like we did in the first quarter. First quarter was great. We came out aggressive, we came out strong, we were attacking the hoop, we played good defense.”
It was mostly downhill from there.
In the second quarter, the Pride outscored the Devils 30-11, including a 10-point run in the middle of the period in which Salesian senior Minyon Moore (24 points) stripped DHS players of the ball three times in a row, scoring six fast-break points.
The Blue Devils had a whopping 46 turnovers on the night, and Salesian capitalized on the extra possessions–which they also got from 21 offensive rebounds.
DHS tightened down on defense in the second half, limiting the Pride to 16 points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth, but scored only 13 themselves in the half.
“We didn’t give ourselves any opportunity on offense, shooting and attacking,” said Highshoe, whose team was held scoreless from the field in the second quarter. “It’s good to get these games early on, so we can learn from them.”
Highshoe hopes that her team learns “how important it is to value to ball and play consistently for four quarters.”
The season is still young, and the 2014-15 Delta League Coach of the Year says she’s still experimenting with different lineups and has been starting players who performed well the previous night.
“I was pleased with how hard Grace Gulsvig rebounded and crashed the boards [tonight],” Highshoe said. Gulsvig also led the Devils with 10 points.
Despite the loss, Highshoe has high expectations for her young team.
“It should be our goal to go undefeated in league,” she said. “It should be our goal to make playoffs and make a state run. And to be able to compete each night and play this style of basketball.”
