T-Girls rout Sonoma in finale

Sheriene Arikat poured in 15 points Monday to pace the Petaluma T-Girls to a 56-22 rout of Sonoma Valley in the final regularly scheduled Vine Valley Athletic League contest of the season.

After a slow start, the leading scorer for the T-Girls found her range in the second period with eight points on a variety of inside shots as Petaluma closed the season with two wins in three starts.

Before the game, the T-Girls were rated No. 19 in the MaxPreps North Coast Section Division II rankings, and their future in the NCS playoffs is still to be decided. Petaluma finished the regular season at 4-8 in league and 12-14 overall.

The win evened the season series between the T-Girls and the Lady Dragons, and this one wasn’t close. Sonoma Valley went stone cold midway through the opening half, and the Dragons tallied only five points in the second and third periods combined. Petaluma led at intermission, 28-15.

Kaleigh Pate, Lily Catarozoli and Kassidy Bacon were honored prior to the game on Senior Night in the Petaluma gym. Bacon picked the night to have a big offensive outing from the left corner of the Lady Dragon defense with nine points, including a long 3-pointer near the sideline.

Pate ran the offense smoothly for most of the contest from her point position, and Catarozoli knocked in a couple of shots in the final stanza.

Two T-Girls were impressive off the bench for coach Jon Ratshin. Bella Weinberg meshed three shots from distance, and finished in double figures with 10 points to match her early season totals in a game against College Park.

Sophomore Taylor Iacopi made three driving shots worthy of a veteran player, including an up-and-under move that drew an unsolicited high-five along the sideline from Ratshin.

It was a disappointing outing for the Lady Dragons, who won the first meeting between the two teams, 40-37. It was their sixth consecutive defeat, and their overall record slipped to 9-15. Sophomore Kennedy Midgley finished with 13 points to pace the Dragons, who ended the season with a mark of 3-9 in the Vine Valley Athletic League. Annie Neles tossed in a 3-pointer in her final game as a Dragon.

The Petaluma JV team completed a notable 23-1 season with an undefeated mark in league play under coach Sophie Bihn as the T-Girls upended Sonoma, 49-20.

Gauchos thump Napa

Casa Grande finished one game out of first place in the Vine Valley Athletic League as the Lady Gauchos ran past visiting Napa, 52-35, on Senior Night in Coach Ed Iacopi Gymnasium on Monday night.

Jennifer Loyo, Shayla Dunker and Samantha Dedrickson were honored before the game by the Gauchos, who finished the regular schedule with a 10-2 mark in league and 16-9 overall.

The third phase of the Lady Gaucho season now begins. Casa opens the first round of the Vine Valley Athletic League playoffs on Wednesday by hosting Napa. The winner will take on the victor of the clash between league champion Vintage and fourth-place Justin-Siena at American Canyon on Friday. The Lady Crushers edged Justin-Siena, 49-46, to win the title outright.

First-round results were not available at press time.

Trinity Merwin had 15 points to lead the Gaucho offense against Napa, and got 12 points in support from junior shooting guard Emma Reese.

Dedrickson again played a prominent role on the stat sheet with 10 rebounds and four steals. Seniors Loyo and Dunler contributed to the win. Loyo turned in a strong floor game and Dunler scored four points in limited minutes.

“Napa is an emotional team, and they will be motivated when we play them again,” said Casa coach Dan Sack. “They know that we press, and it would not surprise me if they tried a couple of new things. Napa will be hard to beat a third time.”