Toads pummel Wildcats in Condor League showdown
By Jesse Phelps

The Thacher girls' varsity basketball squad staked a major claim to the Condor League title Wednesday night, using a balanced scoring attack and full-court pressure defense to dismantle crosstown rival Villanova, 64-20.

Thacher moved to within one game of an outright league title, an upcoming contest at Dunn School on Saturday.

Thacher was led by point guard Becky Horton, who notched 11 points. She and Erica Puccetti had six steals apiece, topped only by Annie Wheatley's eight in what was a defensive onslaught, particularly in the second half.

The score was 26-14 at the half and Villanova looked to be solidly in the contest. Thacher coach Melissa Johnson said her team talked about rebounding and defense at the half and she got plenty of both after the teams returned to the court.

Center Whitney Livermore had the game's only double-double, scoring 10 points to go with her 11 rebounds.

Six of her boards came in the second half and four on the offensive end. She was battled inside by Wildcat forward Katie Parziale, who scored just four points but grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

Parziale consistently looked to pass and she set up her teammates for a couple of pretty buckets.
"There's something about my team that I really believe in," Parziale said after the contest. "I don't think it's a one-person game. I think our whole team adds to what we all can do. I don't think that I'm the dominant player, I think they help me play well."

Still, it was tough for Villanova to get shots off against Thacher's swarming defense. Livermore and fellow Toad Steph Rauner combined for six blocks and the team as a whole combined for 26 steals.
Stephanie DeSantis and Brittany Smallwood led Villanova's scorers with six apiece.

Smallwood and Elizabeth Clifton grabbed five boards each and Clifton nailed a pair of hoops, including a nice first-quarter lay-up off a three-quarter-court pass from Parziale.

Thacher got a surprising contribution from reserve Sabrina Lee. Perfect from the field, she also hit six free throws on her way to 10 points. When she wasn't taking the ball agressively to the hoop, Lee was dishing to open teammates.

"Sabrina Lee came in there and she had the game of her life," said Johnson. "You know, that's what you hope for. Tonight, I thought we played more up to our potential. We are a team that is all about defense and rebounding. We love to get our offense jump-started off of our defense."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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