Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
Canyon del Oro girls basketball coach Keri Brown didn’t want a repeat of the first meeting her team had with Catalina Foothills this season.
In that Jan. 16 game, Foothills lost by five but put a scare into CDO because of its offensive rebounding.
“They got 10 points on second and third shots,” said Brown, whose team won 63-58 in the first meeting.
Brown’s message sunk in as CDO beat the Falcons 48-38 thanks to protecting the boards.
“That was definitely a point of emphasis for us coming into this game,” Brown said. “We closed gaps and we boxed out. When we box out, it sets up the fast break for us.”
CDO remains perfect in league play at 6-0 and is 24-1 overall. Foothills falls to 3-3 in Sonoran Region play and 16-9 overall.
CDO went on a 10-2 run to take a 42-28 lead in the closing minute of the third quarter and cruised to the victory in the fourth quarter.
“We were mentally not into it at that time and it killed us,” Foothills coach Laura Siemons said.
CDO’s Sarah Batterton did most of the damage in the decisive third quarter.
“I bet she had 10 rebounds in a matter of a minute or two,” Siemons said. “She’s big. We contained her the last time. She had eight points, but she did kill us on the offensive rebounds.”
Nadi Carey topped CDO with 12 points. Charde Mayne and Sydney Lewis finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Foothills had two scorers in double figures – Lainie Vinikoor (13) and Shakayla McEaddy (10).