Martin leads T-Girls to key comeback win over Analy

Kelsey Martin scores 23 points to lead Petaluma’s T-Girls to an important 62-53 win over Analy.|

Triggered by a third-period scoring outburst by forward Kelsey Martin, the Petaluma T-Girls came from behind to defeat rival Analy, 60-52, in a key Sonoma County League game on Friday. The win boosts Petaluma to a one-game advantage at the top of the SCL standings.

It took everything the T-Girls could muster in the late going after the visiting Tigers grabbed a dominating 30-19 halftime advantage by outhustling the hosts at every turn. Rebounds and loose balls helped the Tigers gradually pull ahead.

Two consecutive 3-point shots by point guard Kaleigh Pate were just enough to keep Petaluma in the game.

After intermission, it appeared that the T-Girls took more interest in things as they came out in a more aggressive zone defense, and at the same time Martin went on a scoring tear. The 5-foot, 10-inch forward found a comfort zone around the baseline area, and she began to knock down midrange shots and a couple jumpers. By the end of the third stanza, Martin had scored 11 points, and the T-Girls soared to a narrow 41-38 advantage.

Pate and Jaden Krist began to look for Martin, who converted 5-of-7 from the floor.

The visiting Tigers, who posted four consecutive wins over Petaluma in the series, got into foul trouble late in the third stanza when their main threat, Alexis Debene, picked up foul No. 4. She had seven points and was a difficult cover up to then.

Martin continued to score inside, along with some accurate foul shooting, and Petaluma increased its lead to 10 points on two occasions. Martin finished 8-for-9 from the line, and had a season-high 23 points.

Pate continued her steady play for the T-Girls by knocking in 10 points, in addition to directing a strong floor game. It was the fourth consecutive double-figure outing for the junior guard.

The situation only got worse for the Tigers (9-9) when Debene re-entered only to pick up a technical foul, and she was sent back to the Analy bench for the rest of the night. Isabel Houseman led the quick-attacking Analy offense with 17 points.

Petaluma coach Jon Ratshin was pleased with the second-half effort by his club, but noted, “We had a long talk at halftime about the lack of effort. Every loose ball seemed to find their hands. I challenged the girls to match the intensity of Analy. Martin had her best game in two years.”

The victory gives Petaluma a 4-0 record in league play, and was important in the Trojan gym against the Tigers, who will be waiting for a return battle in Sebastopol in the second round.

Krist scored nine points, pulled down six rebounds and blocked three shots for the T-Girls. Krist leads the T-Girls in rebounds with an average of 8.7 per game.

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