NHS net girls dim Flashes in 80-35 massacre
by Jesse Phelps

According to their coach, the Nordhoff girls' varsity could have played better defense in their first round Nordhoff Tournament game. From the stands, it hardly looked that way. The Rangers absolutely dominated their matchup with Fillmore, using a run of 24 consecutive points in the first half to blow open the game.
The final score was 80-35, but this one was over well before halftime.
The Flashes were hard pressed to get a shot off against the aggressive Ranger defenders. Guards Ariane Roache and Johanna Rothermel had three steals each. Roache looked good, adding six points on 50 percent shooting, but her minutes were limited due to foul trouble.
"She's going to have to learn not to reach," said Nordhoff coach Ted Cotti. "But it's a long season and we'll learn those lessons as they come."
Guard Sarah Lagos led the Rangers with 16 points on six of eight shooting. She poured in four of six three-point tries, including three of four in the decisive first half.
Alexis Kenyon added 14 points, making eight of 12 free throws. Becky Kennedy was dominant on the block, leading the team with 11 rebounds and contributing eight points.
She and Alison Bennett held down the interior on defense. Bennett had a rough shooting night but contributed eight points, seven rebounds and four steals. Three of those came during Nordhoff's impressive first half run, when the Rangers used a swarming matchup zone to go from an 11-8 deficit to an enormous lead.
"I wasn't happy in the beginning. We gave up too many points early," Cotti said. "We gave up on our man but I don't like to have to do that. We went to our zone. I know we can run zone trap, but we really want to be able to show some people, show ourselves, that we can run man."
The run was at 10-0 as the first quarter buzzer sounded. After two Tahnie Benitez free throws at the five-minute mark of the second quarte, the Nordhoff lead had stretched to 28-11. Lagos followed that with a steal and a three-point shot. A free throw moments later made it 24 unanswered points.
To their credit, the Flashes kept fighting through the worst of circumstances. Lorriane Valasquez ended the Nordhoff run at the free throw line, making two shots with 5:31 left in the first half. On the ensuing possession, Lagos nailed another three but Velasquez then scored Fillmore's first field goal in over seven minutes off a dish from Diana Nunez, who also played a solid game in defeat.
After Bennett and Rothermel combined on a steal, Bennett fed Lagos for another hoop. Moments later Lagos made her third three of the half and Nordhoff led 42-14 with 48 seconds left. She wasn't done. She scored once more on a breakaway, which was followed by hoops from Benitez and Bennett.
The Rangers headed into the locker room with a 48-16 lead. The second half only offered more of the same. Nordhoff consistently built its lead on transition opportunities created by suffocating defense. In the fourth quarter, the Rangers switched back to man-to-man defense, with results no less impressive.
"We're really trying to not reach, to slide our feet and play a little more fundamental defense," said Cotti.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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