After a rainy day in Ventura, Foothill Tech’s girls’ basketball team had a downpour of points against the Santa Clara Saints, dominating in their first league home game of the season. After a tight first half, the Dragons turned it on in the second half, eventually winning 70-35 over the Saints.
Abby Sourwine ‘19 won the tip for the Dragons, who quickly ran a play for Annika Kinnaman ‘19 to knock down a baseline jumper. Emiline Bova ‘19 scored on a fastbreak the following play to put Foothill up 4-0. The Saints got on the board with a pair of free-throws, but Kinnaman countered with another jumper. Kinnaman finished the game with eight points and five rebounds.
After a few free-throws and layups off of Santa Clara turnovers, the Dragons held a 16-7 lead. The Saints then ended the quarter on a 7-0 run that included two three pointers to cut the lead to 16-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Kinnaman felt that the team didn’t start the first half with “great intensity” and that they need to focus on “defending the three point line and rebounding” for the coming games.
Santa Clara kept pressing in the second quarter as the teams traded three pointers back and forth, with an outside shot coming from Katie Bova ‘19, and three more from downtown by Emiline Bova. Sourwine drilled a mid-range jumper, and the Saints answered with a layup to end the quarter with the Dragons up 30-24.
Katie Bova thought that the team “came out a little nervous but cleaned it up in the second half.”
Sure enough, Foothill heated up to start the third quarter, beginning with back-to-back layups by Abby Bova ‘19. Despite a shot from the Saints, the Dragons kept coming as Abby Bova fed Emiline Bova for two more jumpers and hit Sourwine for a layup. With 45-28, Sourwine returned the favor, dishing to Abby Bova for a jump shot. Emiline Bova ended the quarter by answering a Santa Clara three pointer with an and-one, giving Foothill a 49-31 lead after three quarters.
The Dragons picked up where they left off to start the fourth, with a layup from Kinnaman and a three-pointer from point guard Cydnie Gutierrez ‘19. Gutierrez had five points, seven assists and five rebounds in the game.
Foothill and Santa Clara exchanged free-throws and layups throughout the quarter, as the Dragons piled on to their lead. Emiline Bova hit a jumper to put the team up 62-34, her last score of the game. She finished with three assists and four blocks along with a season-high of 32 points to lead both teams in scoring.
Izzy Gallegos ‘19 hit a corner jumper to bring the score up to 68-34. After a free-throw from the Saints, Abby Bova knocked down a jump shot to end the game, awarding the Dragons with a 70-35 win. Abby Bova had 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Center player Sourwine finished with eight points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
Abby Bova said that “it wasn’t one of our best games overall, but the effort was there.” She reiterated the importance of focusing on team defense and rebounding. “We’ve definitely improved this year and really picked up the intensity,” she said.
Coach Jason Edgmond felt that the reason they were able to take care of business in the second half was because the team moved the ball around better and got more open shots.
“We’re a year older, a little more physical, a little more aggressive and the girls understand the game more,” Edgmond said.
The team now has a 10-2 overall record with a 2-0 start in their league. They play on Thursday, Jan. 11 at Carpinteria.
