The Greyhounds are coming off one of their best stretches of the winter basketball campaign, notching two wins in three games.
Healdsburg sandwiched a 49-35 victory over Santa Rosa with an even split against archrival Maria Carrillo to push their league record to 2-4 and 9-10 on the season.
The Hounds will play upcoming road dates at Windsor (Feb. 2, after press time) and Montgomery (Friday, Feb. 4) before coming home to host the Jaguars in a rematch next Tuesday, Feb. 8. All varsity games tip off at 7:30 p.m.
Busy week
The Greyhounds began a three-game week on Jan. 24 at Maria Carrillo, racing out of the gate to take an 18-4 lead after one. Healdsburg led 32-17 at the half. The teams played on even terms in a competitive third quarter, and the Hounds fought off a mild Puma comeback in the final eight minutes to secure a 57-50 win.
“We dominated the first quarter and the rest of the game was played fairly evenly,” Hounds coach Kevin Leffew reported. “Carrillo adjusted to a press and a zone trap that slowed us down, but overall, Graham MacDonald dominated inside.”
McDonald led the attack with a game-high 28 points and 13 rebounds. Other top scorers were Sam Vanden Heuvel (13 points) and Sebby Leffew (9 points).
Healdsburg traveled to Santa Rosa on Jan. 26, clawing back from a 15-11 first-quarter deficit to trail 22-20 at the half. The Hounds took control in a decisive third period, out-scoring the Panthers on an 18-6 run en route to a 49-35 victory. “We came out with more defensive focus in the second half and were able to hold Santa Rosa to only six third-quarter points,” Kevin Leffew noted. “We played great defense in the second half and rode the hot hand of Sam Vanden Heuvel.”
The sharp-shooting Vanden Heuvel finished the game as the Hounds’ top scorer with 19 points, adding nine rebounds. Also turning in good efforts were McDonald (14 points, 13 boards) and Sebby Leffew (9 points). Defensively, Greyhounds’ Roland Sanchez helped limit Santa Rosa’s top scorer Will Logue to just 10 points.
Healdsburg hosted Maria Carrillo on Jan. 28 in the rubber match between teams, each claiming a win in the first two outings. This game would not disappoint, as the teams battled tooth and nail for four quarters. The contest came down to the final seconds but when the dust cleared, the Pumas escaped with a 53-51 win.
“We knew going in, it would be difficult to beat them for a third time,” Kevin Leffew said. “We knew Carrillo would come at us with a press and zone trap as they used at the end of the game Monday. We prepared for it but we just didn’t play well.”
The difference came down to poor shooting, with Healdsburg converting 38% of its shots from the field, including just 19% from three-point range.
