Elk Grove High School
Lady Herd Basketball
Elk Grove, California
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Elk Grove High School
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In the News
2007-2008
Wednesday, March 7, 2008 Benson resigns as Elk Grove girls coach By Jon Gudel - Sports Editor Coaches often wait until the twilight of their careers to walk away from their professions, clinging to that competitive drive that fueled the appetite to coach one more season despite mentally and physically feeling otherwise. Brian Benson is the minority in that regard.
Instead, Benson, the winningest varsity girls head basketball coach at Elk Grove High School since 1982, is leaving on his own terms. And he's doing so at a relatively young age. The 33-year-old coach resigned last week to spend more time with his family and also, as he admitted, his energy and desire to get into the gym and teach the nuances of the game had subsided. "I felt there were two reasons that played into my decision," said Benson, who has a 1-year-old son, Carter. "First, there's been a lot of stuff that I've missed at home that I want to make sure I'm there for. The second thing is I feel like me sticking around wouldn't be fair to the program. I've lost the drive. I don't have the energy to get into the gym and work on fundamentals." Benson departs after a stellar nine-year tenure - the longest in the past two decades at Elk Grove - as his team qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs in each season. His career record of 159-95 includes four 20-plus win seasons. He was named coach of the year twice and once as co-coach of the year. His best season came in 2004 when Elk Grove compiled a 24-5 overall record. "I'm proud of what we accomplished," Benson said. "We've always demanded a lot of our athletes. They've always risen to the occasion. I'm proud of the reputation our program has in the area." Benson told his team of the decision to step down last Thursday, exactly one week after Elk Grove was eliminated in the second round of the Division II playoffs by Grant. Although the Lady Herd reached the section playoffs in all nine seasons coached by Benson, they failed to advance to Arco Arena to either the semifinals or section finals. That, Benson admitted, is one of his few regrets. "The one thing I wish we could've done is make deeper runs into the playoffs," he said. "We never won a league title, but then again we've only had two before me." Benson's fondest memories revolved around tournament trips in late December to New York and twice to Orlando, as well as his first playoff win as a 10th seed upsetting No. 7 Ceres, the defending section champions, in 2000.
Sauvain coached at Elk Grove for five seasons in the early 1990s, combining for two league titles and consecutive 20-plus win seasons. Benson will remain on-campus at Elk Grove, where he is a government teacher. He said he wants to rededicate himself to his profession, probably adding AP classes to his teaching schedule. "The toughest part is not knowing what the future holds," said Benson, a former assistant coach at Del Campo during back-to-back section finals appearances in the late '90s. "I've spent so much emotion into the program that it's basically all I've known. Figuring out the next chapter in my life will be interesting." Benson coached 17 all-league players while at Elk Grove, including the Delta League's most valuable player in 1999-2000, Amanda Fitzgerald. Ironically, Fitzgerald is the front-runner and potential lone candidate to replace Benson. She still holds two school records as the program's all-time scorer and assists leader. Most importantly, Fitzgerald also has Benson's endorsement. "Amanda will do a great job," said Benson of Fitzgerald, a four-year member of the varsity team and also assisted the varsity team as a coach last season and spent the past two seasons as the junior varsity head coach. "I'm sure she'll be nervous at first but, once she settles in and figures out her style, she'll be fine." Benson says he plans to attend most games next season and will remain as the Delta Valley Conference representative. But his passion and coaching style will sorely be missed. Elk Grove Citizen Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Lady Herd ousted in second round By Jon Gudel - Sports Editor Grant and Elk Grove high schools are synonymous with football. As two of the most prestigious programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section, the two schools developed a rivalry in the late 1990s. The notoriety had yet to transfer to the hardwood, until a second-round pairing last Thursday in the second round of the Division II girls playoffs. It was the first meeting between the two teams in Elk Grove head coach Brian Benson's nine-year tenure. The entire four quarters mirrored that of a football playoff game. Points were scarce, and both defenses dictated the flow. Conceding to Elk Grove's slower tempo in the initial three quarters, No. 5 Grant eventually revved up its frenetic pace in the fourth to outscore the fourth-seeded Lady Herd by 13 points over the final eight minutes for a 45-31 road win. Elk Grove, which finished third in the Delta Valley Conference, was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season. Grant advanced to face top-seeded St. Francis in the semifinals tonight at the University of the Pacific. The winner advances to Saturday's Division II section final at Arco Arena. "At the beginning of the season, we set a goal to win 20 games," said Benson, who guided Elk Grove to a 20-8 overall record this season. "That is the mark of a stellar season and we reached that." Neither Grant nor Elk Grove distinctively located an offensive rhythm in a low-scoring slugfest, preferably suited for the Lady Herd. Elk Grove had scored more than 50 points only twice in its last 10 games. But, in that span, they only allowed 50 or more points twice. Both teams combined for just 37 first-half points. Grant nearly equaled its first-half total (18) in the fourth quarter alone (16). The Lady Pacers trailed by one at the end of the first and second quarters and then returned the favor by claiming a one-point lead entering the fourth. Aside from Elk Grove suffering through a six-minute drought in the third and fourth quarters combined, Grant used a full-court press and subsequent dribble penetration to grab the first double-digit lead of the game for either team. Grant scored 14 unanswered points - 12 in the paint - in the fourth, turning a one-point deficit into a 13-point lead. "I'm so proud of the team for executing the game plan to perfection. It was a contrast of styles and to be up 19-18 at half, our style was clearly winning out," said Benson. "We knew that our best chance to win was to control tempo and protect the ball." Grant, which started the third quarter with back-to-back transition layups after three consecutive Elk Grove turnovers, appeared to have the fresher legs in the second half. Alicya Crisp poked the ball away from point guard Samantha Schuring into the backcourt and then out-hustled Schuring to the ball and soared for an uncontested layup, giving Grant a 33-28 lead with 6:55 left in the fourth. Elk Grove had less than 48 hours to recuperate from a double-overtime win against Monterey Trail in the first round. Conversely, Grant starters played minimal minutes in the second half of a 68-39 rout of Yuba City in the playoff opener. "Our girls are conditioned so well that fatigue isn't a factor with this team," said Benson. "Had the game gone double overtime, we would have had plenty of energy. One of our messages before the game was not to leave anything in reserve. We win and we don't play for six days so go all out." Elk Grove did not score in the fourth quarter until 2:59 remained in the game, snapping the drought on Kara Boyles' three-pointer. By then it was too late. Boyles, a four-year varsity starter who leaves as the third career leading scorer in school history and holds single-game (7), season (70) and career (212) three-point records, did her best to keep Elk Grove afloat offensively in the first half with three three-pointers, including one that bounced off the back of the rim and then off the top of the backboard before dropping through the net. She finished with a team-high 14 points. Schuring (seven points) and Kelly Wallace (six) were the only other Elk Grove players to score more than two. Crisp led Grant with 14 points. She also added eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals. Brianna Parker had 13 points and 12 rebounds. "This team can flat out defend anyone," said Benson of his team. "On the season we only gave up an average of 39 points per game. We held Grant to their fewest amount of points all season. Unfortunately, we couldn't score in the fourth. That was the difference." Without the ability to penetrate Grant's interior defense, Elk Grove was limited to roaming the perimeter. That forced five consecutive possessions where Elk Grove did not attempt a shot until the shot clock dipped below 10 seconds. That unconventional strategy, at least for most teams, worked in the third quarter. Schuring beat the shot clock with a running one-hander in the lane for a 25-23 lead with three minutes left. On Elk Grove's next possession, Schuring banked in a three-pointer with the shot clock at nine seconds. Later in the quarter, Chelsea Suitos converted a layup as the shot clock ticked down to two seconds, supplying the Lady Herd with a 28-27 lead - their last of the game. From there, Elk Grove was outscored 18-3 the rest of the way. "We were well prepared and executed well. It was just a bad break that some of our shots didn't go down," said Benson. "We controlled the clock and usually score near the end of the shot clock. If some of those shots go in, they don't get their run outs and it's a different game. Our system makes teams guard us for the entire shot clock and we get a lot of points within the last five seconds. That didn't happen for us against Grant down the stretch." Elk Grove Citizen Friday, February 22, 2008 Lady Herd survives double-overtime to advance
By John Hull - Citizen Sports Writer
Colleges refer to this time of the year as "March Madness."
High school basketball fans need to come up with their own moniker for their playoffs instead of naming it after some tire store. So, Tuesday night the Sac Joaquin Section/Les Schwab basketball playoffs tipped off and in Elk Grove, there wasn't a finer game outside of the one played at the Cartwright Gym. The 14th-seeded Monterey Trail Mustangs almost pulled off an opening round upset, taking fifth-seeded Elk Grove into double overtime before losing, 59-54, in the Division II playoffs. Lady Mustang head coach Paris Kidd called it the best effort her team put forth this season. "The girls wanted this very badly, I couldn't have asked for more," she said. "Of course, I would have liked the win, but I couldn't have asked for a better effort." For Lady Herd coach Brian Benson the game didn't start that well. There were several missed layups and short jumpers. "That's been a problem of ours," he said. "Sometimes we get too excited and we don't seem to get the ball into the basket. Our scoring picked up after the first quarter and we were able to get quality shots." Herd center Kelly Wallace was a force throughout the game with several blocked shots and numerous rebounds, despite being ill. "She shouldn't be out of bed tonight," Benson said. "She was able to stick it out until the end of the game and made some big free throws at the end to finish it off for us." But Kidd said it was good to see her smaller frontline prevail at times inside. "We've coined the phrase, 'hustle play,'" she said. "They are a group of athletic kids and they live off the hustle." The Lady Mustangs had a narrow 11-9 first-quarter lead, thanks mainly to the play of Aiwekhoe Okungbowa. The 5-foot-10 junior scored nine of those first 11 points for Monterey Trail. For Elk Grove, it was point guard Samantha Schuring who kept the Herd in the game. Neither Elk Grove nor Monterey Trail led by more than three at the end of any quarter, until the fourth-seeded Lady Herd used a 9-4 margin in the second overtime. "She had nine steals, led the team and didn't come off the floor in a double-overtime game," Benson said. Schuring had 11 first-half points and ended up with 16 despite struggling with her shooting. The Lady Herd finished shooting at a 36.3 percent clip, but were 4of 12 from three-point land. The Lady Mustangs led 23-22 at half. Neither team had larger than a three-point lead in the second half with six lead changes and five ties. With the score tied at 41 and inside one minute to go, Monterey Trail had three decent shots at the basket but nothing dropped and Wallace came away with the ball and passed it to Schuring who hurried the ball up court but missed the shot.
The Lady Mustangs' Bathsheba Wariso grabbed the rebound and Kidd called for a timeout with 13.5 seconds on the clock. Wariso got the ball on the inbounds and tried to put a move on Kara Boyles, but Boyles poked it away and was recovered by Wallace. Despite being clobbered by a pair of Lady Mustangs, Wallace pivoted and tried to pass the ball out but the buzzer ended regulation tied at 41. Benson beseeched the refs for a call, just like he did all throughout regulation. "And I got them and they started blowing the whistle," he said. "At the end of the fourth quarter each team had one team foul. This is playoff basketball and the refs aren't going to bail you out. You have to keep powering the ball up and not thing a little contact will get a call." In the first overtime, Boyles hit a key three-pointer to grab the lead at 48-45. After a layup by Jessica Flores to narrow the margin to one, Wallace low-posted her opponent and banked in a short jumper to give Elk Grove the lead at 50-47 with only 51 seconds left. Donalyn Castellano was then called for traveling and the Lady Herd had the ball back with 30 seconds left. Monterey Trail then intentionally committed four quick fouls to get Elk Grove into the bonus so they could obtain possession of the ball. Finally, when Okungbowa fouled Schuring with 11.3 left, it put the 5-5 junior at the free-throw line for the one-and-one. She missed the first shot, and the Lady Mustangs grabbed the rebound and quickly called a timeout. On the inbounds, with Boyles in her face, Jessica Flores threw up a 20-footer and swished it through at the buzzer to force the second extra period. Prior to the next overtime, Benson reminded the players of what happened two years ago when the Lady Herd, as a 15th seed, forced second-seeded Nevada Union into double overtime. "The better team won that game," he said. "I reminded them of that and told them the roles are now reversed here tonight (Tuesday) and we're the better team." Sophomore guard Moriah Bruce came alive and grabbed two offensive rebounds and scored to help Elk Grove grab an early lead. After Schuring's steal and feed to Robards for a layup with a minute left, Schuring then forced a jump ball and the direction arrow went in Elk Grove's direction. The Lady Herd then played keep away for the remaining 45 seconds. Wallace hit a pair of free throws to ice the game and send Elk Grove into the quarterfinals last night against No. 5 Grant. The Sacramento Bee February 20, 2008 Elk Grove prevails in two OTs
By Quwan Spears - qspears@sacbee.com
Before the start of the fourth quarter, in which his team trailed by three, Elk Grove High School girls basketball coach Brian Benson shouted at his players. "How do you want your season to end?" The Thundering Herd's response: Not in a loss. In an exciting and end-to-end battle, Benson's team pushed back Monterey Trail 59-54 in double overtime Tuesday in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. "We responded to coach's challenge by picking things up and doing what we had to do to get the win," the Thundering Herd's Kelly Wallace said. The Thundering Herd answered its coach's question following 40 grueling minutes and after blowing a three-point lead late in the game. "We have four sophomores that play in our rotation every single game," Benson said. "They've been asked to play beyond their years and be productive in a playoff atmosphere. So they needed to be reminded about the finality of the playoffs. "And that there is no tomorrow, and that the game is not going to be easy, and that the other team is not going to just hand it to you, and that the referees are not going to bail you out. I told them and the entire team. Either take things into your own hands, or you're going home." Elk Grove (20-7) advances to the quarterfinals and will host Grant on Thursday, instead. Two juniors, Samantha Schuring and Wallace, are reasons why. Schuring, a guard, played the entire game, scoring a game-high 19 points and collecting nine steals. Wallace, a forward, scored two of her 11 with 53 seconds left in the second overtime, providing her team with a 57-54 advantage. "Schuring played a fine floor game," Benson said. "She collected the first four rebounds of the game, got a lot of steals, and led the team, never coming out of the game. She was tireless. Kelly played sick and probably should not have gotten out of bed. But she was able to pick it up, making some big baskets and free throws at the end." Good thing she did. Mustangs guard Jessica Flores (15 points) dribbled from her own baseline and canned a huge three-pointer with 4.7 left in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 50-50 and eventually sending it into the first overtime. The Thundering Herd, however, bounced back in the next overtime, overcoming a 19-point performance by Monterey Trail guard Aiwekhoe Okungbowa. Elk Grove Citizen Friday, February 15, 2008 Lady Herd assured of first-round home game
By Jon Gudel - Sports Editor
Forgive Elk Grove head coach Brian Benson if he suffered a case of deja vu.
By virtue of earning the Delta Valley Conference's third seed, the Lady Herd returned to Franklin for Tuesday's opener of the two-game, three-day league tournament. Wearing home white uniforms yet considered guests on the gymnasium scoreboard, Elk Grove swept the three-game season series from Franklin with a 43-38 win. It was the second time this season that Elk Grove played the same team twice in five days or less. After a 32-28 win over Oakmont in the championship game at the Oakmont Rotary Classic on Dec. 8, the Lady Herd allowed the identical amount of points in a 40-28 win over Oakmont just three days later. "I told the girls that its tough to beat a good team three times," said Benson about Franklin. "This was completely different than Oakmont. We know everything that Franklin runs and they know everything that we run. We switched some things up. It helped in the first half. We made adjustments offensively and the kids were able to execute." Elk Grove had already clinched a first-round home game prior to the league tournament, but a win tonight against Davis in the tournament finale could elevate the Lady Herd to third in the Division II power ratings. A loss might drop Elk Grove to sixth, although that might not be the worst-case scenario. If Elk Grove earns the third seed and escapes the first round, Benson said they could realistically face Grant, considered to be one of the premier Division II programs, in the second round. "I think we ran into a slump in the middle of the year and then we started to pick it up," said Benson, recalling a stretch of six games in eight days followed by a near three-week break. "We're just focusing on getting better and peaking at the right time." Four games separated Elk Grove's third-place standing in the DVC to Franklin's tie for fifth with Valley. Still, as Elk Grove learned through two regular-season meetings, Franklin is a dangerous team, especially if sophomore point guard Kim Manlangit is allowed to roam the perimeter uncontested. Manlangit, who led Franklin in scoring at 15.2 points per game this season, scored 28 in a 51-46 loss to Elk Grove in the season finale. Elk Grove won both meetings by 13 points combined. In both cases, the Lady Herd led by nine points or more after the first quarter, outscoring the Lady Wildcats 27-8. Franklin, which trailed 12-3 in the first meeting, had second-half rallies fall short in both losses. Elk Grove also won 46-38 on Jan. 22. "It's been a frustrating year," said Franklin head coach Kay Parsons. "I have to give the girls credit because they don't give up. We always seem to be right there, but we just struggled making shots. That's been our problem all season." Franklin made just 14 of 50 shots in Tuesday's tournament opener. Manlangit, who scored a game-high 14 points, sank a three-pointer with 32.1 seconds left to close Franklin's deficit to 40-35. But, despite a three-pointer at the buzzer, Manlangit also missed a three-pointer to bring Franklin within two. The Lady Wildcats committed an offensive foul with 16.9 seconds left to halt a possible comeback attempt. Kara Boyles led Elk Grove with 13 points. Chelsea Suitos had 11. "We just couldn't find a way to make our shots," said Parsons. "It comes down to us trying to find that third and fourth scorers." Elk Grove, which started the season by winning 10 of the first 11 games in December, ended the regular season at 6-4 in the DVC. The Lady Herd lost twice each to Davis and Kennedy, failing to score at least 40 points in each of those losses. Even so, Elk Grove swept season series' from Laguna Creek, Valley and Franklin. The Lady Herd limited opponents to fewer than 40 points on 15 separate occasions this season, including winning twice despite scoring 37 points or less. "It really took us a few games in league to get going," said Benson. "We didn't play very good against Laguna Creek in that first game but, aside from Kennedy and Davis, we started to really improve as a team." Franklin lost six consecutive games to conclude the regular season, ending any possibility of the program notching its first-ever playoff appearance. That wasn't the case in early January, when Franklin entered league play above .500 for the first time in school history. Parsons admitted then that this year's team offered the program's best chance to reach the postseason to this point. "I really like this group. They work really hard. They work hard in practices," said Parsons. "It's nice that we have been in basically all the games in the fourth quarter." Parsons, in her 19th consecutive season as a coach, allowed herself to glimpse into the future. "I think we had a good chance this year to make the playoffs but the next two years gives us the best chance." Elk Grove Citizen Thursday, February 14, 2008 Lady Herd survives low-scoring slugfest
By James Darnell - Citizen Sports Writer
Though it was a "Super" day in the world of politics, last Tuesday's matchup between the Elk Grove Lady Herd and Valley Lady Vikings' varsity basketball teams was anything but. Excessive turnovers, missed layups, and air-balled jump shots were just some of the miscues from both teams as the Lady Herd pulled out a 37-35 victory. A fan in the stands at Valley High School summed it up best with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and Elk Grove holding onto a 34-29 lead. "We're one play away from breaking away!" the Elk Grove supporter urged. So was Valley. The Lady Vikings converted on two layups on consecutive trips down the floor, pulling within a single point with 4:50 to go. Lady Herd junior Samantha Schuring had a chance to increase her team's advantage to three points after being fouled on a drive to the basket moments later, but only hit one of two free throw attempts to give her team a 35-33 lead. But Valley just wouldn't go away. Lady Vikings' senior Catalina Corpuz scored on a driving runner through the center of the Elk Grove defense, causing Elk Grove coach Brian Benson to call a timeout with both teams tied at 35 apiece with less than three minutes to play. The two teams struggled to gain any momentum down the stretch, but Lady Herd sophomore Samantha Esperanza scored what proved to be the game-winning basket on a jump shot in the post with just over a minute left. Leading the way for Elk Grove in the low-scoring outing was senior Kara Boyles, who contributed a game-high 10 points. Schuring and sophomore Mariah Bruce added nine for the Lady Herd. Sophomore Joslyn Moore led the way for Valley with nine. "We needed a win," Benson said. "Wins in this league are hard to come by, and it was evident tonight. Valley has been playing well lately, and we knew this was going to be a battle. This was definitely a relief to get out of here with a win." Benson's relief was evident, as was the desperation to snap a late-season skid. Elk Grove entered the Valley contest with a two-game losing streak from the week before after loses to Davis and Kennedy, respectively. Prior to those games, the Lady Herd were a comfortable 4-2 within the Delta Valley Conference, slugging it out with Davis for the second spot in the league standings. But the defeats allowed Davis to leapfrog over them as they earned a 6-2 record dating back to Tuesday. Conversely, Valley entered the game following a close loss to Laguna Creek four days earlier that snapped a two-game win streak. For Valley head coach Patrick Roth, those two wins are their only league wins of the season. The Vikings fell to 2-7 in DVC play with the loss to Elk Grove. "For us, we are playing really well," Roth said after the game. "I am so proud of my team. They are playing hard, they are competing, and they are doing everything they can to win." "Elk Grove is a good team," he added. "I don't want to take anything away from them, but we were just two points away on the short end. We gave ourselves a shot." Valley may have given itself a shot towards the end, but for the first three quarters it seemed as if neither team wanted the victory. Both teams got off to slow starts, as the Lady Herd led 6-4 with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter, and led 11-10 when the second quarter got underway. But the second quarter failed to bring anything more to the table, in fact, fewer points were scored as Elk Grove trailed 18-17 at halftime. Despite the loss and the way the season has gone thus far, Roth is feeling real good about his team, with his players being no different. "My team is sucking it up and just competing," Roth said. "I really like this team. It is one of my favorite teams I have ever coached just because of their morale. They know at this point, it is not about what the other team does. It is what we do, that makes a difference. We are not out trying to play other teams, we are out trying to be the best that we can be."
Halfway through the Delta Valley Conference season in girls basketball and outside of undefeated Kennedy, the rest of the teams are battling for any kind of consideration for postseason berths.
Franklin couldn't buy a basket at the outset, while Elk Grove seemed to find its preseason form when the Lady Herd went 10-1 to start the season. Elk Grove opened up a 12-1 lead in the first quarter, led 33-22 after three periods and then held on for a 46-38 victory Tuesday night. Herd coach Brian Benson said when the lead was at 11, he wasn't letting up. "A game like that is a one possession game. That's my mindset," he said. "We were never able to put them away. We did a very poor job of rebounding tonight and kept giving them multiple shots." For the Lady Wildcats, no one seemed to step up and help stellar sophomore point guard Kim Manlangit. Lady Wildcat coach Kay Parsons said they talked about that during and after the game. "She sometimes doesn't get the support she needs. We didn't have a good shooting night inside and when that happens, Kim starts doing more of the one-on-one stuff, but tonight we had no rhythm offensively and it frustrated everyone, including Kim," said Parsons. Though listed at 5-foot-5, the quick, agile ball handler showed flashes of great promise with quick drives, sharp passes and an excellent shooting touch for such a young player. She wasn't afraid to poke around inside the paint at times and collect garbage. Manlangit ended up with 17 points, and in the fourth quarter gave her team a chance to pull within two points. The Lady Wildcats hit the first seven points of the fourth quarter, including a three by Manlangit and an assist on a quick pass to Whitney Hall who banked it in. But with 5:24 remaining Hall fouled Samantha Esperanza, who made two free throws and Elk Grove was up by six. Then another bucket by Manlangit and it was 35-31, Herd. Neither team could hit anything on two trips up and down the court until a basket by Natali Robards brought the crowd to their feet with 3:31 left and Elk Grove was again up by six. Franklin trimmed an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to four but failed to get any closer in a 46-38 loss at Elk Grove. Benson put junior guard Samantha Schuring on Manlangit and she seemed to make a difference in slowing down, even disrupting the Wildcat offense.
Manlangit hit a pair of free throws to again cut the margin to four at 37-33 with three minutes left, but then Kara Boyles showed why she's been worthy of four years of varsity basketball at Elk Grove. Boyles hit a key jumper with 1:45 remaining and then two free throws with just less than a minute on the scoreboard. She led Elk Grove with 11 points as the Lady Herd went a perfect 6 of 6 at the line in the fourth quarter. The Elk Grove defense didn't allow Franklin to get any closer and a three-pointer by the Herd's Mariah Bruce with 16 seconds remaining sealed the win. Schuring and Bruce each added eight points for Elk Grove. Besides Manlangit's 17 - 11 of those in the second half - Hall scored six and Atalah Foster had five. Tonight the Thundering Herd, now 3-2 in the conference, hopes to pick up a second win of the season over Laguna Creek. Elk Grove won 37-34 on Jan. 8. Then next Tuesday they'll host Davis. The Lady Blue Devils popped a 52-27 defeat on Elk Grove back on Jan. 11, when the Lady Herd hit only 6 of 47 from the field in the game. The Lady Wildcats, now 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the Delta Valley, will be home against Kennedy tonight.
Elk Grove senior Kara Boyles blocks a potential game-winning three-pointer by Laguna Creek's Veronique Williams late in the fourth quarter. Elk Grove won 37-34. With Gena Johnson available, Laguna Creek was a team vying to reach the .500 mark. Without her in the lineup, the Lady Cardinals mirror a lower-tiered team in search of continuity and consistency.
It wasn't a game film either coach will present as award-winning material. Even so, Elk Grove leaned on its defense, as it did for most of the preseason, to improve to 12-3 overall and 1-0 in the DVC. Laguna Creek dropped to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in league. "It's always tough to play here," said Laguna Creek head coach Anatole Moore, in his second season since replacing Karen McAleney. "We had our opportunities. You can't say we didn't have our opportunities." "We are so young," he added. "Sometimes even our seniors play young." Johnson, the league's leading scorer at 16.0 points per game, is far from a senior. In fact, the sophomore guard is one of the top underclassmen in the Sac-Joaquin Section. But her season might be over after she sustained a knee injury in the third quarter of the championship game in the McClymonds Warrior Classic in Oakland on Dec. 27. Johnson injured her knee as she elevated to block a shot. She will have an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury. The likeliest scenario is a torn ACL and Johnson will be unavailable for the rest of the season. Moore is optimistic she hyper-extended her knee and could return for the section playoffs. Moore also said he most likely will not play Johnson, if cleared, until next month because he does not want to jeopardize her future. "She's probably the most explosive player in the league," said Moore. "She plays hard all the time. I'm going to pray that it's not that serious and then we'll take it from there."
Johnson's absence is a numbing subtraction for Laguna Creek, which is still a playoff contender despite missing the team's leading scorer and rebounder albeit not nearly at the same capacity. Without Johnson roaming the perimeter and slashing to the basket, Laguna Creek relied heavily on the interior presence of Miranda Melliza. Rarely did Laguna Creek have a possession without at least one touch for Melliza. To that, the 6-foot senior panicked in dealing with double teams and sagging defenses. She shot just 3 of 11 from the field and finished with six points. "You can't let the absence of a player change your game plan, especially the day of the game," said Elk Grove head coach Brian Benson, told about Johnson's injury earlier Tuesday. "Gena's a fantastic player who is a catalyst for her team on both sides of the ball. Other players stepped up. We did not take them lightly. Regardless of the players, Laguna Creek and Elk Grove is always a classic game." Two of three meetings were decided by three points or less last season. The same trend continued in the league opener, although neither team executed down the stretch. Both teams combined for five straight possessions without a shot attempt in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter until Elk Grove sophomore Mariah Bruce missed a wild layup attempt with 37 seconds left and the Lady Herd ahead 35-34. On Laguna Creek's ensuing possession, Veronique Williams had a three-pointer blocked by Kara Boyles with 10.9 seconds left. Boyles was fouled and made both of her free throws for a three-point cushion. Laguna Creek's last-second desperation heave was thwarted when Lajazmin Clay had a three-pointer partially blocked by Natali Robards as time expired. Elk Grove has allowed more than 50 points only once all season. "We told them in the timeout that they (Laguna Creek) needed a three-pointer," said Benson of his late-game message to his defense. "So you contest it. Go straight up and contest it and don't foul. They did a good job of listening and executing what we told them." While the final two minutes of regulation caused fluttering hearts, the previous 30 had constant stoppages for fouls or unforced turnovers. Both coaches appeared perplexed on the sidelines, often standing with hands on their hands and arms crossed. Laguna Creek regrouped after trailing 11-2 midway through the first quarter. While both teams combined for just 13 second-quarter points, the Lady Cardinals trimmed a once nine-point deficit to four before Elk Grove's Samantha Schuring snapped a three-minute drought with a layup and a 19-13 lead at the half. Laguna Creek, which scored more points in the third quarter (14) than the entire first half, tied the game at 23 on a three-pointer by Williams and then grabbed its first lead on a three-pointer by sophomore Danielle Stephen, 26-25. Elk Grove scored four of the next five points to lead 29-27 at the end of the third. Laguna Creek's Tamica Williamson had a steal and subsequent layup for a 31-31 tie with 4:32 left in the fourth, but the Lady Cardinals never regained the lead the rest of the way. Schuring led Elk Grove with a game-high 14 points, while Stephen scored a team-high 12 for Laguna Creek. "We had girls step up and we had chances to get this win," said Moore. "It was tough. Things have been for us." Laguna Creek had three separate two-game losing streaks in preseason. They lost six of their first nine games. A difficult preseason schedule contributed to finishing December two games below .500, although Laguna Creek did win two of three games at the McClymonds Warrior Classic to advance to the championship game. The Lady Cardinals placed second after a 56-45 loss to Carrillo of Santa Rosa. Laguna Creek had scored more than 50 points in eight of its first 12 games before scoring a season low against Elk Grove in the league opener. Elk Grove had not played since Dec. 18, a 59-27 road win at Franklin of Stockton. Last Friday's preseason finale was canceled because of weather conditions that caused condensation to leak into the gymnasium at Florin High School. Benson associated the layoff to his team's rhythm-less offensive flow. "Our offense is about rhythm," he said. "When you're not in game situations it hurts that rhythm. I would say it contributed to our offensive struggles." Elk Grove opened the season by winning 10 of its initial 11 games before suffering its only two-game losing streak with back-to-back losses at the Morro Bay Tournament in San Luis Obispo. The Lady Herd lost three preseason games by 13 points combined. Laguna Creek will host Elk Grove on Jan. 25 in the second and final regular season meeting between the two teams. Elk Grove and Laguna Creek split two regular season meetings last season. Laguna Creek won 53-42 at home in the league opener, while Elk Grove gained a season split with a 42-41 win in the rematch. Laguna Creek also beat Elk Grove, 64-61, in triple overtime in the first round of pool play at the Delta Valley Conference Tournament. If Johnson is forced to miss the rest of the season, Elk Grove has a viable opportunity to sweep the season series from Laguna Creek for the first time since 1998.
Elk Grove has been in this position before. In fact, it's happened twice already in the past three seasons. The Lady Herd has started the season with a near flawless first month of the season. They also accomplished that feat in 2004 and 2005.
Probably not, considering Division II is collectively a deeper field from top to bottom. In 2004, Elk Grove began the season on a 10-game winning streak and finished at 24-5 overall. That season abruptly ended with a 42-40 upset at home to Rocklin in the playoff opener. One year later, the Lady Herd won seven of their first eight then stumbled down the stretch by losing five of their final seven, including a 60-55 setback to Nevada Union in the first round. Elk Grove is off to a similar start this season, the school's best since that near unbeaten December in 2004. The only loss in the first 10 games came in a 42-38 overtime decision to Sheldon in the championship game of the Elk Grove-hosted Cartwright Classic. The next weekend Elk Grove captured the tournament title at the Oakmont Rotary Classic. The early-season success has fed off the team's overall defense. Elk Grove allowed opponents to fewer than 40 points five of its initial 10 games, including fewer than 30 four times. The offense is spearheaded by arguably the league's best backcourt, with guards Kara Boyles, Chelsea Suitos and Samantha Schuring. Boyles, in her fourth season at the varsity level, has averaged double figures each of the past two seasons. Schuring is one of the best true point guards in the section, and Suitos is capable of rebounding and scoring from her guard spot. Those three will determine whether Elk Grove advances further than the first round this season, something the program did a year ago despite losing four of the first seven games and finishing 13-15 overall. It's proof that it doesn't matter how you start but instead how you finish. . . .
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