Lady Dragons rally past Justin-Siena

In their annual preseason, nonleague clash, the Sonoma Valley and Justin-Siena high schools’ varsity girls’ basketball teams hooked up in a battle that saw each squad win a quarter in a closely played, low-scoring first half, and a quarter in a one-sided, high-scoring second half Saturday night in Pfeiffer Gym.

After taking a 12-6 first-quarter lead, the Lady Dragons were outscored 12-8 in the second period and held a two-point halftime lead that visiting Justin-Siena turned into a 37-27 three-quarter advantage with a 19-8 run fueled by Morgan Malloy, who would finish with a game-high 27 points.

But the Sonoma girls got back to playing their usual tough defense in the fourth quarter, while revving up their offense behind team high-scoring junior Jenny Eggers and rode a 20-4 surge to a 47-41 victory.

Eggers led the Lady Dragons with 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.

Also leading Sonoma were junior Bella Bollman’s seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals; senior Shelby Camilleri’s six points, three rebounds, two assists and one block; sophomore Grace Cutting’s five points, seven rebounds and one block; junior Renee O’Donnell’s three points and six rebounds; junior Sami Von Gober’s three points and five rebounds; senior Alexa Hall’s three points; and junior Emma Stanfield’s two points and two assists.

The Lady Dragons host nonleague Novato today – freshmen start at 2, junior varsity plays at 3:30, and the varsity tips off at 5 p.m. – before traveling to Arizona for the annual holiday Cactus Jam Friday through Tuesday, Dec. 26 to 30.