The No. 11 seeded Lady Greyhounds fell agonizingly short in the first round of the North Coast Section (NCS) Division 4 basketball tournament, falling at No. 6 seeded Terra Linda in a hotly contested game, 48-45.
The Hounds entered the contest with high hopes after posting a 7-3 league record, but it wasn’t in the cards as the Trojans escaped with a hard-fought win.
“I am very proud of the girls as we were very prepared for what Terra Linda was going to do,” HHS coach Steve Zichichi said. “Our game plan was perfect but we ran out of gas in the end.”
The ladies came into the NCS tourney without senior Katy Conrad, who was lost a week earlier due to a broken finger. The lack of depth was an issue late in the game.
Healdsburg got off to a great start in the Feb. 16 opener, breaking the Trojans’ press in racing to a 17-6 lead. The teams traded buckets in a high school second quarter as the Hounds held a 30-28 halftime lead and maintained the advantage throughout a tight third period to take a 38-37 edge after three. But the Hounds would run out of steam down the stretch, missing key free throws as Terra Linda hung on for a 48-45 win.
The girls had nothing to be ashamed of as we competed the entire game and came up one basket short,” Zichichi noted. “I tip my hat to Terra Linda as their defense and depth was the difference in the game.”
Maddie Wagner led the Greyhounds with 13 points. Other top scorers were Itzel Ortiz (12 points) and Hailey Webb (7 points). Freshmen Allie Espinoza and Ashley Behrens chipped in seven and six points respectively.
The ladies finished the winter campaign with an overall record of 17-9.
