A wild flurry of offense in the final minute sparked by a quick freshman Casa Grande back-court tandem helped turn back visiting Windsor, 56-51, in the North Bay League girls basketball race on Friday night.
First-year guard Sophia Gardea poked the ball away from a Windsor dribbler near mid-court with the game tied, and less than a minute remaining, and it was converted into a go-ahead lay-in by teammate Trinity Merwin. From that point, things only got worse for the Jaguars.
Merwin was not finished as she made a steal and another quick bucket to give Casa a more comfortable cushion. Merwin finished a solid game for the winners with team-high 16 points. Gardea added nine points for the Gauchos.
“It’s still early for us, and we haven’t put in all of our presses, but these two kids are picking up on trapping very fast,” explained Casa coach Dan Sack.
Windsor hurt its own cause in the final stanza of a game that was always close when the Jaguars failed to convert on five free throws down the stretch.
After missing a hurried shot attempt, the flustered Jags fouled intentionally, but too much time was left on the clock. It was the second intentional foul for the Jaguars, who were eager to stop the clock.
Reliable Mia Cain knocked down a pair of clinching free throws for the Lady Gauchos, who evened the season series with Windsor and improved to 4-4 in the NBL. Cain pulled down five rebounds in the frantic final period, and she matched Merwin for game honors with 16 points.
The win might have opened the door a bit for Casa Grande to earn a spot in the league playoff tournament at the end of the regular schedule, but Sack was quick to pump the brakes on any such thinking.
“There are too many roadblocks left on the schedule for us to play, including Rancho Cotate who we beat in the first round,” Sack said. “They have some good kids over there that I like, and the rematch is in their gym.”
Center Gabby Giddings (6-feet, 1-inch) had a strong outing for Windsor, scoring 24 points, mostly from short range. Giddings rotated from high to low post, and she was able to seal off three rotating Gaucho defenders in a match-up zone configuration. Cecelia Smith added 10 points.
Windsor got off to a cold-shooting start, and trailed, 10-0, in the opening minutes, but the Jags crawled back behind Giddings to lead, 29-26, at halftime.
After intermission, the game rocked back and forth, with no more than four points separating the two clubs. Samantha Dedrickson and senior Katherine Silveira knocked down a pair of shots each from distance for the Gauchos to keep them in the hunt.
Six games remain on the NBL schedule for the Lady Gauchos (11-8), including a regular season-ending contest against undefeated Cardinal Newman.
“Newman has come back to the pack recently,” noted Sack. “They still have some good players, but they are not automatic college level. Montgomery almost got them in the first round.”
Despite a 12-point comeback in the fourth quarter, the Casa Grande junior varsity fell to the Jaguars, 55-48.
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