SONOMA ACADEMY 42, ST. VINCENT 26Coyotes use hot early start, romp to win over Mustangs

Undefeated Sonoma Academy rolled past St.|

Undefeated Sonoma Academy rolled past St. Vincent, 42-26, Friday night at DeCarli Gym in a key girls game in the North Central League II title chase. The Lady Coyotes jumped to a commanding 12-3 first-period advantage over the cold-shooting Lady Mustangs in a game that would never be closer than 10 points.

Quick point guard Chloe Colbert of Sonoma was a difference maker in this contest as she moved the ball up the floor against all attempts by the hosts to force the Coyotes out of a comfort zone on the offensive end. The result was several good looks at the basket by her teammates and a comfortable 23-9 advantage at halftime.

A long 3-point shot by guard Claire Galten at the buzzer was the only highlight in the early going for St. Vincent.

Sonoma Academy improved to 12-0 by running a weaving offense out front which eventually peeled off the St. Vincent defenders, and the Coyotes had clean looks at the basket.

“I didn’t think we were ready to play a full 32 minutes of physical basketball,” said a disappointed Mustangs coach Art Walker. “It amounted to a lack of focus, and we discussed that at the end of the game. Our team just needs to be more physical.”

On the defensive end, the Lady Coyotes swarmed around top St. Vincent scorer Olivia DeGraca, and she didn’t get too many good position opportunities on entry passes from the perimeter. DeGraca had only six points on the night, with all coming on free throws in the second half.

“We have been working on getting the ball inside to Olivia, but some of the passes were too high to give her a chance to drive to the basket,” explained Walker.

Stacy Olsen and Lauren Reed kept the Sonoma offense alive in the second half, and the Mustangs couldn’t pull any closer than 10 points at 32-22. A 3-pointer by Reed was a big dagger to a possible St. Vincent comeback in the final stanza. It was the only basket from the floor by the Coyotes in the fourth quarter. Free throws down the stretch kept the margin at double digits.

Reed, only a sophomore, ended the game with 13 points to pace all scorers. Two of her shots were from long range. Olson added 12 points for Sonoma.

Galten had an extra bit of energy for the Lady Mustangs and finished with a team-high eight points. Several of her shots in the second half were from difficult angles while moving to the side. She sees the entire floor, and the Mustang offense is set into gear when Galten is set on the left side of the offense.

Sophomore Katie Gross played her best game as a Lady Mustang, and she had some aggressive moments at the top of the defense. Most of the game, she was shadowing the constant movement of Colbert. Gross also knocked in six points for St. Vincent.

“Katie had a difficult assignment tonight, guarding their fastest player,” said Walker. “It was a strong game for her.”

St. Vincent fell to 0-2 in NCL II play with all the tough teams stacked at the top of the schedule this season. The Lady Mustangs have plenty of time to regroup, but they can’t afford more defeats in the second half of league play.

Sonoma coach Kevin Christensen’s team is off to a terrific start this season, and it could reflect on his concentration on only one team in 2016. The impressive record to date includes wins over International of San Francisco and Marin Academy of San Rafael.

Loss at Upper Lake

Earlier in the week, the St. vincent girls lost a high-scoring game at Upper Lake, 59-48.

St. Vincent held upper Lake to just four points in the opening quarter, but watched as the Cougars clawed back in the game to tie the contest at 19-19 at the half.

A 27-point Upper Lake third-quarter eruption decided the game.

DeGraca had a huge game for the Mustangs scoring 23 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Galten added 15 points, with six coming on a pair of 3-point connections.

St. Vincent could find no way of stopping Upper Lake’s 5-6 point guard Natalie Karlsson, who riddled the Mustang defense for 37 points.

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