’Woods ground Skyline, move on in hunt for state title
Ashley Quigley scored 18 points, the Corsairs defense held the Trojans scoreless for the final two minutes of regulation and the College of the No. 8 Redwoods women’s basketball team defeated visiting No. 9 Skyline College 62-60 in the second round of the CCCAA
NorCal Regional state championships, Friday night in front of a sold out crowd at CR.
“The girls did an amazing job tonight. They battled all game and really deserved this win,” Redwoods head coach Jane Tuey said. “We talked all week about how physical this game would be. We knew we had to step up.
“We played probably the best defense we have all season tonight,” the coach said.
Dennise Horton, who scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half during 20 minutes of pure post domination, got a layup to fall with 2:16 to play in the fourth to give Redwoods a 62-58 lead.
The freshman out of Del Norte High spent the majority of the evening being defended by, and playing defense on, Skyline’s leading scorer and an allstate selection in 6-foot center Olga Faasolo. Faasolo entered the game as Skyline’s leading scorer with a 13.9 points-pergame average.
She scored all of four points Friday night, and Horton’s defense was a big reason why.
“(Faasolo) was pretty good, but I felt like I bodied her up pretty well all night,” Horton said. “When I play a bigger body I feel confident. I feel like I play better when I am asked to rise to a higher level, and I feel like I did that tonight.”
Horton’s bucket with just over two minutes to play counted as the final points if the night for Redwoods.
Defense took care of the rest.
Skyline (17-8) made 1-of-7 field goals to close out the game following Horton’s bucket, finding nothing in the way of open space as
the Corsairs played lights out defense when it mattered most.
During a dramatic 15 second stretch in the waning moments of Friday’s contest Skyline got three quality but contested looks at a basket, including two in the painted area.
But they didn’t fall. And with five seconds remaining Horton nabbed a rebound off a missed shot by Nicole Brunicardi, all but locking in a state playoff game win for the ‘Woods.
Redwoods (21-5) will face the winner of No. 1 San Joaquin Delta vs. No. 16 College of the Siskiyous, which will be played on Saturday, on March 7. The winner of the March 7 contest will be one of four NorCal teams advance to the elite eight state championships at West Hills-Lemoore College.
Early on
Redwoods took a minute to get going offensively Friday night. After an 0-for-5 start from the field as a team Redwoods’ leading scorer Ashley Quigley struck from 3-point territory just over three minutes into the game. The shot put Redwoods ahead 5-2, giving the Corsairs their first lead of the half and one the Corsairs would hold until the break.
Brianna Green recorded two of seven steals taken by Redwoods in the first quarter. The freshman scored once and assisted on another basket to close out the first quarter and send Redwoods into the second with a 13-8 lead.
Quigley came alive in the second frame, scoring eight points off a variety of stepback jumpers. Her scoring
accounted for half of Redwoods’ second quarter points as the Corsairs carried a 29-25 lead into the break.
Redwoods struggled to score in the third, making three field goals in the frame. Horton got to the line four times and came away with five points in the period while Abiona Katri made a key 3-pointer to avoid a larger deficit than the 45-44 margin Redwoods faced entering the fourth quarter.
That deficit quickly evaporated as Darienne Kartes, who missed her first seven attempts from 3-point land, nailed a long-ball to give Redwoods the lead. Brunicardi tied the ball game up on Skyline’s next trip down the court but Quigley responded with a 3-pointer, giving Redwoods the last lead it would need Friday night.