Two months of hard work and preparation will be put to the test this week as the Healdsburg High School varsity basketball teams embark on what should be a competitive North Bay League campaign.
At press time the Greyhounds were prepping to open the NBL Oak Division schedule at perennial power Cardinal Newman on Tuesday, Jan. 4, and come home to host Santa Rosa this Thursday, Jan. 6. The Lady Hounds will open NBL Redwood Division play at home on Wednesday, Jan. 4 against Piner and will visit Maria Carrillo on Friday, Jan. 7. Start times for the JV and varsity teams throughout the league season are 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Ladies on a roll
The Lady Greyhounds (10-5) have emerged from an impressive pre-league schedule with a 10-5 record under veteran coach Steve Zichichi, and will open the NBL Redwood Division season as one of the teams to beat in league.
“We’ll find out in a hurry how good we are when we play the two toughest league opponents, Piner and Maria Carrillo, in our first two league games,” Zichichi said. “Our team is very young, with four of our 10 players being freshmen. They have all contributed so far but our outside shooting from our upper classmen has been erratic, and we need to improve in that department.”
Junior Itzel Ortiz is off to another good start in her third varsity campaign, leading the team in scoring in most game. Other pre-league standouts have been sophomore guard Hailey Webb, the team’s floor general. Pleasant surprises have been the emergence of freshmen Ashley Behrens, a strong rebounder and defender, and Allie Espinoza, also one of the team’s top defensive players.
“It is really saying something when our top two defenders are freshmen,” Zichichi noted. “I have challenged our older players to match the freshmen’s intensity on defense. We have worked very hard on defense during the Christmas break and have had some of our best practices of the year.
Other key players for the ladies are seniors Katy Conrad and Emily Dunkel, junior Maddie Wagner, sophomore Jordan Holland, and freshmen Ruby Leffew and Maddie Munselle.
“We haven’t played a game in two weeks but have practiced very hard, cleaning up a lot of small details that were needed to make us a more complete team,” Zichichi said. “I am very excited to see how the rest of this season plays out. It is such a pleasure to coach this group of girls.”
Greyhounds move up to Oak Division
The Greyhounds compiled a solid, 7-5 record in a roller-coaster preseason under head coach Kevin Leffew, with their most notable wins coming in December against Maria Carrillo (75-63), Ukiah (51-43) and Middletown (57-46). Healdsburg came narrowly close to winning the 72nd annual REIBT last month, taking two of three before falling to Justin Siena in an exciting championship game.
“We’ve had an up and down pre-season,” Leffew confirmed. “There has been a lack of consistency, which has cost us some wins. Mainly, the defense has been a bit inconsistent with how we practice. We also have had a couple guys in shooting slumps, so when that all hit us at the same time, we have struggled.”
For the first time ever, the Hounds will compete in the rough and tumble NBL Oak Division, battling the likes of Cardinal Newman, Windsor, Montgomery, Maria Carrillo, Ukiah and Santa Rosa for a spot in the upper echelon. The Hounds were elevated from the less competitive Redwood Division by virtue of winning three straight league titles prior to a COVID shortened spring season in 2021, one that did not crown a league champion or include postseason play.
Team leaders through the team’s first 12 games have been senior center Graham McDonald, junior guard Sam Vanden Heuvel, senior guard Sebby Leffew and junior forward Max Hubbell. Other team members are senior guard/forward Roland Sanchez, juniors Pedro Diaz, Bernie Pimental, David Hubbell, Sebastian Miranda and Diego Zavala, and freshman Thatcher Little.
Although the Hounds have struggled with a lack of depth, the team has shown both resilience and cohesion through a challenging pre-league schedule.
“What I like about this team is our camaraderie and spirit,” Kevin Leffew noted. “They really enjoy being around each other and they play hard. This is one of the most connected teams I’ve seen at Healdsburg where we are truly a team, and all the guys want to be in the gym together or after practice they might go grab a bite to eat together.”
