Lady Dragons zap Petaluma, Healdsburg

While defense has always been the trademark of the team under the direction of head coach Sil Coccia, it’s when their offense feeds off it that they produce at their best and the Sonoma Valley High School varsity basketball girls proved it with back-to-back Sonoma County League wins and a rare chance for a repeat title.

Wrapping up their final road trip of the regular season, the defending champion Lady Dragons continued their stellar play over the past month by sweeping past longtime SCL rivals Petaluma Tuesday night and Healdsburg Wednesday evening and to extend their league winning streak to nine straight games.

With the victories over the Trojans and Greyhounds the Sonoma girls (10-1 SCL record, 17-8 overall) will host Piner in both their home and league finale at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Pfeiffer Gym just a win away from defending their SCL title as either the outright or co-champion with current first-place-tied Analy.

Before this evening’s opening tip, Sonoma will honor its eight seniors – Bella Bollman, Jenny Eggers, Annie Greenslade, Heidi Landeros, Renee O’Donnell, Rocky Darnell, Emma Stanfield and Sami Von Gober – along with their parents.

On Tuesday, the Lady Dragons were defensively dominant from the outset and ended up pulverising Petaluma 46-18 behind reigning SCL most valuable player Eggers’ double-double of a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds to go with two assists.

Also leading visiting Sonoma past the Trojan girls were junior Kayla Field’s seven points and five rebounds; senior Sami Von Gober’s six points and seven rebounds; senior all-leaguer Renee O’Donnell’s four points, five rebounds and one blocked shot; senior Rocky Darnell’s three points; senior Emma Stanfield’s two points and eight rebounds; junior Grace Cutting’s two points, four rebounds and two blocks; sophomore Amy Stanfield’s two points and three assists; and senior Annie Greenslade’s five rebounds and junior Katie Stovall’s three.

“This was a game where we jumped on them with tremendous defensive intensity, holding them to one point in the first quarter, one field goal in the half, and seven points overall to gain an advantage that would only increase in the second half. Energy and focus on defense carried the day,” said Coccia, who was also celebrating his birthday that night. “I was very proud of the girls in terms of the commitment to not letting the other team score, and to get 52 rebounds in a high school game is a testament to the core principle that defense and rebounding wins games. Jenny (Eggers) was on a mission with her best double-double of the season.”

In Wednesday night’s key league clash at Healdsburg, the Lady Dragons trailed 16-13 after the first quarter, but then stepped up their defensive pressure and didn’t allow another double-digit-scoring period.

Sonoma then finished the SCL showdown on a 15-8 fourth-quarter surge past the Greyhound girls that secured a 45-36 triumph.

Leading the Lady Dragons in Healdsburg were Eggers’ second straight double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to go with one block; O’Donnell’s 10 points and six rebounds; Amy Stanfield’s eight points; Cutting’s seven points, eight rebounds and an eye-opening six blocks; Field’s four points, four rebounds and three steals; and Von Gober’s two points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists.

“We knew Healdsburg would regroup after two disappointing losses to play well on its senior night. They came out hot making four threes in the first quarter on their way to 16 – almost as many as we gave up the entire game against Petaluma. But we made some key defensive adjustments and held them to 20 points the next three quarters,” Coccia said. “In the end, it was defense, rebounding and clutch free throws that sealed the win. This game was a grind and our girls clearly knew what the stakes were in this must-win game and they delivered. I know how hard it is to win back-to-back league games on the road.

“For us to do that on consecutive senior nights and come within one game of a championship shows the mettle and competitiveness of this group of girls. We by no means are looking past Piner, but with a title on the line, I know our girls will come out to play with incredible energy and desire.”