Healdsburg hanging tough with 3-1 league record
The Lady Greyhounds kept pace in recent North Bay League basketball action, combining a 48-29 loss to Maria Carrillo with a 59-43 romp over El Molino.
The result pushed Healdsburg’s NBL record to 3-1 and 3-3 on the season.
At press time the Hounds were preparing to take on Piner in a road and home series beginning on May 18 in Santa Rosa, followed by a Thursday, May 20 home date with the Prospectors in Smith Robinson Gymnasium. The varsity tips off at 7:30 p.m.
Hounds gain split
Conditioning may have been a factor in the May 11 home clash with league leading Maria Carrillo, as the Pumas busted open a tight game with a huge third-quarter run to win going away.
“The girls fought very hard but Carrillo pressed us full court the majority of the game and it caused problems offensively for us,” HHS coach Steve Zichichi said. “Eventually the full court press wore us down.”
Healdsburg trailed 17-12 at the half but the Pumas reeled off a decisive 20-8 run in the third quarter that would propel them to a 48-29 victory.
Sophomore Itzel Ortiz led the way with 10 points, while other top contributors were Maddie Wagner (6), Gracee Barker (5), Hailey Webb (4) and Emily Dunkel (4).
The Greyhounds got back to their winning ways two nights with arguably their best performance of the season at El Molino.
Healdsburg set the tone with an 18-8 run out of the gate and continued the surge throughout the second period to grab a comfortable, 31-15 cushion at the break.
The Hounds emptied their bench with no let up after intermission in cruising to an eventual 59-43 rout.
“I was worried about El Molino bringing back all five of their starters this year and they’re a lot bigger than us,” Zichichi noted. “But our girls would not be denied and came out on fire.”
Ortiz led the attack with a team-high 21 points. Other top scorers included Webb (17), Dunkel (14), Theresa Helfrich (4) and Wagner (3).
