The Windsor High School girls basketball team has not been deterred by a four-month delay to the season, racing to its best start in years.
Led by veteran coach Joe Passalacqua, the Jaguars have logged six wins in their first seven games, including a 3-0 record in the North Bay League.
Windsor has posted victories over Sonoma Valley, Analy, El Molino, Napa and two over Santa Rosa, with its lone loss of the campaign coming against Maria Carrillo.
The hot start can be directly attributed to the hard work and dedication of the players, many of whom are balancing school studies with other sports in direct conflict with basketball.
“It’s been fun for the girls but a little different having to wear masks all practice and on the bench during games,” Passalacqua noted. “We’ve had two games canceled due to the opposition having COVID exposure and one canceled because the other team only had five players. Hopefully, we’ll get six more games in.”
The Jags opened the spring campaign on April 28 with a 48-45 win at Sonoma Valley. Junior Maddie West led the scoring with 12 points and six rebounds while juniors Meredith Gilbertson (11 points and 12 boards) and Grace Boyle (10 points) also played well.
Windsor opened the league season at home against Analy on May 4, erasing a 32-24 third quarter deficit with a decisive 17-0 run to take control.
“Our defensive intensity picked up with us pressing,” Passalacqua said. “We were able to get Gilbertson rolling, scoring 11 of her 20 points (in addition to 14 rebounds) in the second half.”
Senior guard Savahna Smith chipped in six points and nine rebounds for the Jags.
The first of two meetings with Santa Rosa was all Windsor on May 6, riding the hot hand of sharp-shooting guard Grace Boyle, who poured in a team-high 19 points.
“Her shooting is really starting to come around,” Passalacqua said later.
Windsor traveled to El Molino for game five of the season, busting open a tight contest in the third quarter to win going away, 58-41.
Boyle and Gilbertson led the way with 16 points apiece, while Paige Finney added 10 for Windsor.
The Jaguars took on winless Napa on May 11, a game that did not figure to be close.
“Turnovers and missed lay-ups almost cost us the game, but we pulled it out late,” Passalacqua noted.
Boyle led all scorers with 21 points, including a half-court buzzer-beater to end the first quarter and another three-point bomb to end the first half. Other big offensive contributors included Gilbertson ((13 points, 17 rebounds), West (9 points) and Smith (8 points).
The Jags posted their sixth win of the campaign on May 14 against visiting Santa Rosa, honoring graduating seniors Nataleigh Johnson, Finney and Smith in a pre-game ceremony.
The Jaguars took full advantage of a big early lead to empty their bench, getting contributions from all 13 players on the team en route to a 61-19 rout.
Top scorers were Johnson (7 points) and Finney (5 points).
Scheduling notes
The Jaguars will resume league play at Ukiah on Saturday, May 22 (2 p.m.), followed by a visit to Montgomery this Monday, May 24 (7 p.m.). Windsor will wrap up the season with a home clash with Ukiah on Tuesday, May 25 (7:30 p.m.) and at Analy on Thursday, May 27 (7:30 p.m.).
