Whitney girls hold off Del Oro rally to emerge with second league win

After a slow start, it appeared that the 9-5 Whitney High School girls' basketball team would pull away from 5-11 Del Oro High on Tuesday night. However, the Golden Eagles were not about to go away quietly. After trailing by as much as 12 points, Del Oro High rallied in the final period to close the gap to 41-40 near the six-minute mark. Following a timeout, the Wildcats regrouped to make an 18-point run and close out the game 59-45. "We broke the press and we were getting some good shots," Del Oro High coach Jennifer Judge said. "I'm really proud of the girls. Every day, we're just chipping away at trying to get that one percent better, and hopefully, it's going to lead to something great." Although Judge has four seniors on the team, none were starters last season. After Whitney High put up just six shots in the first quarter, five from behind the arc, the Wildcats managed just 10 points. Fortunately for the visitors, they held Del Oro High to six. "I think we were just a little timid against their zone for some reason," Whitney High coach Sydney Gatson said. "We weren't attacking it. You don't need to make the home run pass every single time." Finding their stride in the second quarter, the Wildcats pulled out to a 31-19 lead at the intermission. Whitney High hit four 3-pointers in the second frame and five of six free throws. The Eagles began to chip away at the lead at the start of the second half. Driving hard to the bucket, Del Oro High shot 45 percent from the floor. In the meantime, the Wildcats struggled at a 23-percent clip, and that cold streak continued into the final stanza. After a timeout, Gatson got her young squad to take a deep breath and calm down. "We settled down and started making the simple passes," Gatson said. "We just started attacking the zone with the dribble or getting the ball inside. That made a big difference for us offensively." The effort to quell the Eagles' rally was also helped by treys from Sammy Schuler and Kendall Dykstra. Schuler had five 3-pointers in the game and was seven for eight from the charity stripe for a game-high 22 points. Del Oro High managed to keep Wildcats center Harper Peterson on the perimeter and hold her to eight points. Dykstra finished with 10. The black and gold was led by Shaelyn Parry's 11 points. Elsa Wilson and Hadley Gieck scored eight apiece. "I'm really proud of the girls. We're grinding every practice," Judge said. "Every day it's a grind. We have all new starters this year, so we're really relying on rebuilding this year." The Wildcats will venture into the Sierra Foothill League's lion's den Friday, traveling to 10-2 Folsom for a 6 p.m. game. The Bulldogs roughed up Del Oro 78-19 last week. Whitney High is 2-0 in the league, Del Oro High is 0-2. The Golden Eagles will head for Oak Ridge (11-7) on Friday, also at 6 p.m.