Analy too big and too fast for T-Girls

League leading Analy had too much size and speed for the Petaluma T-Girls who dropped a 50-26 decision to the Lady Tigers on Tuesday night in Sebastopol.|

League leading Analy had too much size and speed for the Petaluma T-Girls who dropped a 50-26 decision to the Lady Tigers on Tuesday night in Sebastopol.

Petaluma had no answer on the inside against 6-3 center Isabella Neidermair who posted up aggressively in the first three quarters to score 20 points as Analy raced to a 49-21 advantage before both teams turned over the game to reserves.

Most of Neidermair’s work came on the deep post where she took up residence by backing the smaller T-Girl defenders to the paint for easy bank shots. She was also able to keep the ball alive for short second shots by the Lady Tigers.

The match-ups for Petaluma could not have been more difficult even though the Trojans battled hard throughout the game. Quick Tiger guards Baily Hunter and Alex Debeni were faster than any other players on the floor, and they led the fast break when the inside game broke down. Hunter banked in 10 points, including making a couple of acrobatic moves between defenders.

Petaluma countered with all-around hustle from guard Emily Corda who played solidly on both ends of the floor. In addition to opening the game with a court-long pass to teammate Olivia Baldwin for a basket, the senior point veteran turned in a stalwart defensive effort, including eight rebounds, and she tallied seven points before leaving the game in the final stanza.

The young T-Girl squad also got some promising work from sophomore starter Brittany Tomrose who consistently drove in among the bigger Tigers on the defensive end. Tomrose hustled for a two-point put back, and added a pair of free throws for Petaluma.

“Brittany has helped to pick up the slack since the injury to Jaden Krist,” explained Petaluma coach Janelle Robello. “She has really improved on the defensive end, and has earned some starts recently.” Krist has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The T-Girls failed to take advantage of a barrage of foul calls against the host Tigers as they missed seven free throws before halftime.

In the final period, Petaluma showed renewed energy off the bench with a number of the T-Girls aggressively earning more playing time. Sophomore Kelsey Martin knocked in a couple of shots to back the play of Tomrose down the stretch.

Robello praised the work over the season from seniors Corda, Baldwin and Kailee Silacci.

“They have provided good leadership all year,” the coach said. Baldwin finished with six points.

Analy remains in a first-place tie with Sonoma Valley as the Tigers improved to 7-1 for the season in the Sonoma County League.

The T-Girls slipped to 4-4 in league play.

Home court win

Last week, Petaluma ran by El Molino, 15-3, in a game played in the Petaluma gym.

The T-Girls jumped out to a 15-3 opening quarter lead and never looked back, scoring in double digits in every quarter.

Emily O’Keefe led Petaluma with 14 points with Nichole Costa counting 13 points.

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