I hadn’t seen a varsity girls’ basketball game at UHS since 2018, and was pleasantly surprised by the aggressive, go to the hoop style that the lady Wildcats exhibited, under third year head coach Michael Wright, last Thursday, May 6, in defeating Rancho Cotate, 54-42.
Give and goes, pushy trapping defense and offensive board put-backs were evident as the young Wildcats dominated the proud Number 2 team in NCS sections last year, the Rancho Cotate Cougars of Mario Newton, head coach. Newton had only 3 returnees, as seniors opted out for full-time jobs and other important personal issues due to the pandemic. The Cougars won league 10-0 in both 2018-19, and 2019-20. They had defeated Santa Rosa 56-33 in their first game this year.
Ukiah Coach Wright cut his coaching teeth as a student assistant (S.A.) at College of the Redwoods, then 2 years as SA at San Francisco State University, then 6 years at Washington HS in San Francisco as varsity boys’ assistant, with some middle school experience mixed in as well. This year’s squad has 3 seniors, 5 juniors, and 6 sophomores.
Sophomore guard spark plug, Jaden Borgna started the scoring for the Cats from 15 feet out. Captain Julia Maldonado followed with a banked 22 footer. With no shortage of scrappy smallish guards, Soph. Jadyn Diaz and Soph Lilly Losak scored lay-ups and ‘out-quicked’ the opponents with nifty passes and strong ball handling. Foul trouble came early as 10 fouls were reached by the hosts with nearly 5 minutes left in the first half. That meant penalty free throws (2) for each succeeding offense.
From the beginning, it was clear that Sophomore returning starter, Keyonee Neal was a solid ballplayer for the Cougars. She drove, juked, shot 3’s and essentially controlled the rhythm for the visitors. Coach Wright mentioned after a see-saw first half, with the Wildcats up 26-22, that they would pick Neal up with on-the-ball big and give defensive help from other Lady Cats. The final score of UHS-54, RC-42 reflected a stronger defense in the middle.
Briefly the Ranch took the lead at 20-17, until the homies began converting nearly all their free throws. Stats showed that the Lady Cat’s were 7 for 9 from the charity stripe after the first half. Sophomore power forward, Kaylen Watkins was the big scorer (13 points overall), shooting inside as well as outside until she went down with a painful ankle injury with 4 minutes left to play.
Coach Wright blanketed the next opponent, Healdsburg High with an early full-court press. It paid dividends as the Wildcats sprinted out to a 23-16 lead in the first half. The Greyhounds closed to 25-22 at the half with two three-pointers. Again, the locals tallied 10 fouls with two minutes left in the first half, Healdsburg only suffering 6 foul-calls.
At the end of regulation play, the score was tied 47. In the following 5 minute overtime, Junior, Jenna Mowery came up big, doing a little of everything to lead the home team to a 54-49 win. “Our girls had each other’s back throughout this game, even though they were tired from playing 3 games during the week,” noted coach Wright. “They just kept each other going.” Healdsburg had beaten St. Vincents, and lost to Justin Sienna before their Ukiah game.
This week, the purple and gold are on the road twice, against Santa Rosa on Thursday, May 13 and Piner-Friday, the 14th. Ukiah plays in the tougher Oak Division and now has a 3-3 record (as does Santa Rosa), with Piner and Healdsburg in the Redwood Division.
