High School girls basketball
The Lady Greyhounds didn’t have to wait long for their first wins of the North Bay League basketball campaign, easily dispatching Elsie Allen and St. Vincent in a pair of routs.
At press time Healdsburg (2-1, 2-0) was preparing for a Saturday, May 8 visit to Ukiah (varsity 2 p.m.) before returning home on Tuesday, May 11 to host Maria Carrillo (7:30 p.m.).
Hounds take two
The ladies tipped off the NBL schedule on April 28 with a 62-27 romp at Elsie Allen, outplaying the Lobos on both ends of the court. The Hounds raced to a 25-9 lead at the end of one and never looked back, getting great contributions from their entire roster.
Pacing the Healdsburg scoring were all-league sophomore Itzel Ortiz (19 points), Gracee Barker (9 points), Emily Dunkel (9 points), Maddie Wagner (8 points), Theresa Helfrich (7 points, 10 rebounds), talented freshman point guard Hailey Webb (6 points, 2 assists) and Bethany Barker (4 points).
“Hailey managed the game well beyond her years at the point guard position,” HHS veteran coach Steve Zichichi said. “She plays like a junior or senior and we’re very lucky to have her and Itzel together for the next couple of years.”
The Greyhounds saw three games canceled due to COVID precautions but were back in action on May 6 against visiting St. Vincent, easily defeating the Mustangs, 65-17.
“We came out a little flat in the beginning of the game and I challenged the girls to pick up the pace during a timeout,” Zichichi noted.
The pep talk worked as Dunkel sparked the team on a late, first quarter rally that increased the lead to 14-2. Healdsburg went to the halftime locker room up 38-6 and never let up en route to a 48-point margin of victory.
Ortiz led all scorers with 18 points, while Dunkel (17 points), Wagner (10 points) and Helfrich (9 points), Gracee Barker (4 points) and Bethany Barker (3 points) rounded out the Healdsburg scoring. Webb turned in an unselfish performance to lead the team in assists.