T-Girls’ turnovers lead to quick exit

Petaluma turned the ball over too many times to be competitive down the stretch as the T-Girls fell to a young Campolindo team 53-37 in the first round of the North Coast Section basketball playoffs in Moraga on Tuesday night.

The T-Girls trailed throughout the Division 3 contest but finally showed signs of life early in the fourth quarter when they cut a 15-point margin to only 42-35 on baskets by Joelle Krist and Allison Scranton. The rally fired up the bench and gave the Petaluma fans some ray of hope.

Campolindo quickly responded with a nine-point unanswered run keyed by a full-court pressure defense that put the game out of reach. The Lady Cougars forced 12 turnovers in the final six minutes of play. Three careless passes were followed by easy lay-in shots by freshmen Ashley Thoms and Haley Van Dyke.

Petaluma made its short run earlier in the final stanza when the T-Girls went into a press of their own, led by the ball hawking of Krist, who knocked in eight points down the stretch.

Krist, who was saddled with two fouls in the first half, had trouble locating the basket in the early stages of the game, and she spent a big part of the second quarter on the bench along with senior teammates Scranton and Cassie Baddeley.

Ten fouls were whistled on the T-Girls, giving the Cougars a double-bonus situation before the end of the first half. The taller Cougars also pulled down 29 rebounds to keep the ball alive in their offensive end of the court.

Campolindo began the game with eight freshman players on their roster, and several of them turned in outstanding efforts to help their team advance to the second round against top-seeded Miramonte. Nine Cougars scored, led by the hustling Thoms, who finished with 11 points. Ashley Dubrasich tossed in 10 points for the Cougars.

Petaluma struggled to score against a collapsing zone defense by the Lady Cougars. Campolindo took everything away from the middle, limiting the shot attempts of Scranton and Olivia Baldwin, and casts from the wing by the T-Girls did not fall.

Krist led Petaluma with 12 points, all in the second half. Emily Corda had flashes of good offense for the second consecutive game, and finished with seven points off the bench.

Junior Olivia Baldwin ended with six points and four rebounds. Baddeley was handicapped with foul trouble, but she played enough to knock in five points.

“I looked at the tape of last year when they beat us here,” said T-Girls coach Janelle Robello. “We even tried playing seven against five in practice to combat the pressure. It’s something our team will have to work on.”

The cold-shooting T-Girls missed their first eight shots from the floor and fell behind, 9-5, in the first quarter. It proved to be a preview of coming attractions.

Although it was a disappointing loss, the T-Girls (21-7) sprinted to 10 consecutive victories to close out Sonoma County League play. Petaluma captured the league tournament and finished the season with two out of three wins against top league foes Analy and Sonoma Valley.

Campolindo (14-13) will face rival Miramonte Miramonte for the third time this season. Miramonte crushed Del Norte of Crescent City, 80-33, in its opener.