The high school basketball season is almost three weeks old, but Petaluma’s girls team played Tuesday night’s game at Rancho Cotate as if it was its first game of the season - because it was.
The smoke from the Camp fire that smothered the area prevented the T-Girls from playing their first two scheduled games and limited their practice time. It showed in a ragged performance against a good and big Rancho Cotate team that won for the third time in as many games, soundly defeating Petaluma, 49-34.
“It was a rough way to start,” said Petaluma coach Jon Ratshin. “We battled all the way, but we weren’t ready. They are a good team.
“We’ll get there. We just have to get back to practice.”
Petaluma starts getting its experience quickly now that the season is underway. The T-Girls begin play Thursday in the Gold Rush Shootout Classic at Piner High School in Santa Rosa, opening with Maria Carrillo in a 4 p.m. game.
Rancho Cotate, like Petaluma, had trouble finding the bottom of the net in its home gym Tuesday night, but dominated with a quick-handed aggressive defense that unofficially produced 27 Petaluma turnovers and allowed the Trojans few good looks at the basket.
Then there is the matter of height. Rancho Cotate’s Kierra Johnson and Katie Schiebold are both listed at 6 feet, 1 inch, and may actually be taller. They dominate the backboards by simply extending their arms. Senior Johnson, who did not have a particularly good game against the T-Girls, is also an outstanding long-range shooter who can definitely play beyond high school.
It all added up to too much for the Petaluma players to handle this early in their development.
One T-Girl who was ready was junior Sheriene Arikat, who, for much of the game, was the total Petaluma offense. She continually created her own shot opportunities, driving fearlessly to the hoop through a maze of Cougar defenders.
Arikat scored 18 of her team’s 34 points and battled for 14 rebounds. On a night when both coaches shuttled players in an out from start to finish, she seldom came off the court.
Kaliegh Pate scored Petaluma’s first basket of the season and finished with six points.
Rancho Cotate freshman Keyonee Neal, a 5-foot, 9-inch athletic guard, led the Cougars with 12 points, with Johnson adding 10.
Rancho Cotate scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed, building a 30-15 halftime lead.
Led by Arikat, with Pate providing a 3-pointer, Petaluma got to within nine during a third-quarter run, but never pulled closer.
Petaluma held off a continually challenging Rancho Cotate team to win the junior varsity game, 42-34.
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