In a game played at a high-tempo, and sometimes wildly out-of-control, pace Monday, it took a deep breath and poise at the free-throw line to finally decide it.
Michelle Arroyo sank two free throws for her only points with 9.9 seconds remaining, as host Sierra High kept the scrappy Tigers of Tokay winless, 46-41.
Forwards Alysia Atkins and Jordan Johnson each had double doubles and were also big in crunchtime. Johnson’s free throws with 2:11 left stretched a late lead to 42-39, and Atkins’ layup 30 seconds later were the last points scored until Arroyo converted her attempts from the stripe.
Atkins recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Johnson’s 10 points were supplemented by 14 rebounds — seven of which came off the offensive glass.
As well as the post tandem played, Sierra coach Steve Unterholzner expected better play all-around as his Timberwolves creep closer toward Valley Oak League play.
“We should have been able to beat them by a lot more than we did,” he said.
Sierra (4-2) winner of three straight, appeared to be on its way to a wide-margin victory after storming out to a 10-2 lead behind an effective full-court press. Tokay (0-8), which never led, managed to crawl back before tying it at 25 with a buzzer-beating layup from Priscilla Gutierrez at the end of the opening half.
“We just didn’t stick to our game plan, which was to be a little more methodical with our press,” Unterholzner said. “We were overaggressive, and they took advantage of that and got easy layups.”
Lack of aggression may never be a problem for either squad this year — over 30 fouls were called, and nearly 50 turnovers created. Some fouls were not called, and a lot of turnovers were more self-inflicted than caused by the other team.
For the visitors from Lodi, it will take time to remedy both.
New head coach Jen Bauer, a former lower-levels coach for East Union and Weston Ranch, has had just a month to get acquainted with her team, and the rust was evident Monday.
Tory Schallberger grinded out 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers. Gutierrez added 10 points.
“To get those kids to trust each other after basically one month together is a lot to ask, and I ask them to do a lot of things that usually take teams years to do,” Bauer said. “It stinks to keep losing this way, but a lot of the mistakes they are making right now happen when they are hustling and trying to do the right thing. The next step is to (execute).”
Asia Cortez added six points, seven steals and three assists.
Michelle Arroyo sank two free throws for her only points with 9.9 seconds remaining, as host Sierra High kept the scrappy Tigers of Tokay winless, 46-41.
Forwards Alysia Atkins and Jordan Johnson each had double doubles and were also big in crunchtime. Johnson’s free throws with 2:11 left stretched a late lead to 42-39, and Atkins’ layup 30 seconds later were the last points scored until Arroyo converted her attempts from the stripe.
Atkins recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Johnson’s 10 points were supplemented by 14 rebounds — seven of which came off the offensive glass.
As well as the post tandem played, Sierra coach Steve Unterholzner expected better play all-around as his Timberwolves creep closer toward Valley Oak League play.
“We should have been able to beat them by a lot more than we did,” he said.
Sierra (4-2) winner of three straight, appeared to be on its way to a wide-margin victory after storming out to a 10-2 lead behind an effective full-court press. Tokay (0-8), which never led, managed to crawl back before tying it at 25 with a buzzer-beating layup from Priscilla Gutierrez at the end of the opening half.
“We just didn’t stick to our game plan, which was to be a little more methodical with our press,” Unterholzner said. “We were overaggressive, and they took advantage of that and got easy layups.”
Lack of aggression may never be a problem for either squad this year — over 30 fouls were called, and nearly 50 turnovers created. Some fouls were not called, and a lot of turnovers were more self-inflicted than caused by the other team.
For the visitors from Lodi, it will take time to remedy both.
New head coach Jen Bauer, a former lower-levels coach for East Union and Weston Ranch, has had just a month to get acquainted with her team, and the rust was evident Monday.
Tory Schallberger grinded out 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers. Gutierrez added 10 points.
“To get those kids to trust each other after basically one month together is a lot to ask, and I ask them to do a lot of things that usually take teams years to do,” Bauer said. “It stinks to keep losing this way, but a lot of the mistakes they are making right now happen when they are hustling and trying to do the right thing. The next step is to (execute).”
Sophomore
Sierra 43, Tokay 33
Valerie Nestor pulled down 13 rebounds while scoring 12 points for the Timberwolves, who were comfortably ahead 14-2 at the end of the first quarter.Sierra 43, Tokay 33
Asia Cortez added six points, seven steals and three assists.
Freshman
Sierra 34, Tokay 13
Kayla Honeycutt accounted for 21 of Sierra’s 34 points, and Deisrea Osaque and Lynda Crescini each grabbed 10 rebounds.Sierra 34, Tokay 13
