TRACY — Thanks to a suffocating full-court press, Mt. Diablo ended the first period on a 16-3 run Wednesday and never looked back in a 58-31 win over Ripon in quarterfinal action of the Tracy Breakfast Lions/Tom Hawkins Girls Basketball Tournament at Swenson Gym.
“They did a good job with that press,” Indians coach Rick Inderbitzin said. “They hustle and they were aggressive. There were times I thought we did a good job against their press and there were times they wreaked havoc and we just threw the ball around.”
Although the Red Devils (9-3) from Concord nabbed 20 steals, they made only two in the third period and outscored Ripon (4-5) just 11-10 in the quarter.
“I thought we did a better job of containing the ball and making better passes in the third quarter,” Inderbitzin said. “But again, we weren’t very consistent and their bread and butter is to make those steals and get those layups.”
The Indians trailed Mt. Diablo by 18 points going into the fourth quarter. Midway through the period Kailee Inderbitzin (eight points) drew Ripon within 14 points at 45-31 before the Red Devils ended the game on a 13-0 run behind three of their eight 3-pointers. Gabby Delgado led the Indians with 10 points and eight rebounds.
“We were 14 points down in the fourth quarter and I thought we had a little bit of a chance if we could hit some shots,” Rick Inderbitzin said. “And then they would hit another 3.
“It’s just one of those things our girls need to be aware of and need to do a better job of controlling the basketball.”
Mt. Diablo has just eight players with no seniors, two sophomores and a freshman and is led by sophomore Natalie Dancem, who scored 28 points with a pair of 3-pointers and multiple transition baskets along with four steals and four rebounds. Makayla Powell added 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
“We’re young,” Red Devils coach Ronnie McGee said. “She (Dance) is a tremendous player with a lot of energy and has a really good basketball IQ. We are definitely fortunate to have her.”
Mt. Diablo forced 23 turnovers.
“The press is something we work on a lot,” McGee said. “Defense gives us energy, and tonight we were missing one of our key defenders.”
Ripon plays the loser of Wednesday’s quarterfinal match between Pacheco and Tracy in a third-round contest today at 4:30 pm and at 7:30 p.m. the Red Devils will face the winner in a semifinal game.
Also on Wednesday, East Union (10-3) lost to Golden Valley (9-5) 56-47 and will take on Gregori (8-6) at 3 today.
