Boys, girls get basketball wins at Pfeiffer Gym

Pfeiffer Gym finally saw some hoops action this week, after a year of largely silent darkness, as both the boys and girls varsity basketball teams met visiting teams on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Tuesday, April 20, found the Dragon boys playing their second game of the year against the Napa High School Grizzlies, after dropping the season’s first game on the road last week to Casa Grande, 65-61. This time the Dragons kept their heads and the pressure up, and after an unsteady defensive first quarter they took the lead in the second and held onto it, winning 57-50.

The Grizzlies did make a fourth-quarter run, tying the game at 46 each with only two long minutes left before the buzzer, but on the strength of a 3-pointer by Anders Mathison and six straight shots from the free-throw line by Dom Girish they won going away. “We were able to close and show some calm in crunch time," said Coach Mike Boles. “Our players deserve credit for that.”

Girish led the scoring with 21 points, followed by Gavin Blanusa with 11 and Anders Mathison with 10. Mathison also nabbed 11 rebounds for the first “double-double” game of the year for the team.

Other standout players on the varsity squad included senior AJ Riebli and freshman Will Breal, each with six points and a strong rebounding game – Breal with nine and Riebli with eight. Rollo Benstead came up with three points, three steals and was a key defensive presence throughout.

“There was a lot of improvement from our first game. That's a good sign,” said Coach Boles after the game. “The reminder is every possession matters… We do need to improve on extending our leads and not allowing the opponent chances to get back in the game.”

Thursday night, April 22, the Dragons met the Petaluma High Trojans at home; results too late for press time.

Girls Basketball

A day later, the girls varsity team scored their second win of the season, besting the Napa High girls 48-42. (Last week they defeated Casa Grande, 36-32, in the season opener in Petaluma.) The Grizzly girls held onto a narrow 22-21 lead at the half, but the Dragons came out breathing fire with a 17-point third quarter to grab the momentum.

Sophie Lucchetti powered the game with her 20 points, six rebounds and three steals. She also dropped in six 3-pointers in the second half to put a lasting impact on the score. Jovanna Saldana came up with 13 (she was top scorer in the Casa game last week with 18) plus six rebounds and a like number of steals. Kathryn Juhasz was dominant on the boards with 13 rebounds, plus nine points; Trinity Wilkens got nine rebounds and four blocks.

Only four members of the squad has varsity experience – Saldana, Lucchetti, Zoe Panelli and Lily Hoban, who is joined this year by her younger sister Siena – and coach Jann Thorpe is pleased with the performance of the young team. “The underclassmen have really been stepping up for us. We have Siena and Presely (Sorensen) doing a great job sharing the point guard position, Kathryn is becoming that inside presence that we need, and Trinity Wilkens has been a huge defensive presence with her blocks and boards for us.

“I could not be more pleased with how hard the girls are working to improve,” said the veteran coach.

Next game for the “Lady Dragons” is Friday, Apr. 23, against Petaluma High, once more in Pfeiffer Gym.