Historic win is first over Panthers since NBL realignment
The Windsor Lady Jaguars notched their most significant win of the 2016-17 basketball campaign on Jan. 26, using an outstanding defensive effort to turn back host Santa Rosa, 44-35.
The win, coupled with a 40-32 loss to Casa Grande on Jan. 24, pushed Windsor’s league record to 3-6 and 9-11 on the year.
Thursday’s win at Santa Rosa took on added meaning for Windsor, representing the first time the Lady Jags had beaten the Panthers since the North Bay League realignment in 2011.
“With a full and healthy squad, we were poised to make history on this night,” WHS head coach Jeff Paul said. “Our plan of attack was to use our height advantage to dominate the inside game, and our defense held tough.”
Next up for Windsor is a Monday, Jan. 30 visit to Rancho Cotate, before returning home to host Maria Carrillo on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Game times for the JV and varsity are 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Jags gain split
The Lady Jaguars played host to Casa Grande in a rematch on Jan. 24, hoping to avenge a 60-59 heartbreaker to the Gauchos three weeks earlier. It wasn’t to be as Windsor spotted Casa a 13-5 first-quarter lead and trailed 29-11 at the half.
The Jags stepped up their defensive effort while pounding the ball inside to post-player Gabby Giddings in the third quarter, holding the Gauchos to just two points to cut the deficit to 31-24 after three. But Casa Grande regained momentum in the final period to stem the tide en route to a 40-32 win.
Giddings turned in a great outing with a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Other top contributors were Sabrina Simili (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Hannah May (5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal).
The Jags were determined to work the ball inside in their Jan. 26 trip to Santa Rosa and did just that, as Mattie Murphy (6 points) and Giddings (2 points) exploited a size mismatch to give them an 11-9 lead after one. The Windsor defense took over in the second, fueling a 17-4 run in extending the lead to 28-13 at the break.
The Jags maintained the cushion throughout the third period and then held off a furious Panther’s rally in the fourth quarter to score an eventual 44-35 win.
Top scorers for the Jaguars included Giddings (13 points, 9 rebounds), Murphy (8 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks), Cecellia Smith (8 points, 2 treys), Simili (7 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals), Tori Russotti (3 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals) and May (5 points, 3 rebounds).
