Wolves lose a heartbreaker

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL

Woodland High falls to Casa Roble Rams

Woodland High School sophomore Lucy Lopez dribbles around a Casa Roble defender during the Wolves Golden Empire League match on Tuesday.

Woodland High School senior Madilyn Watkins drives to the basket during the Wolves Golden Empire League match against Casa Roble on Tuesday. PHOTOS BY CARLOS GUERRERO — DAILY DEMOCRAT

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By Carlos Guerrero

cguerrero@dailydemocrat.com

Despite three great attempts at a game-winning buzzer-beating shot, the Woodland High School girl’s varsity basketball team lost a heartbreaker at home to Casa Roble in a thrilling 50-49 Golden Empire League clash.

Although the Wolves (1-11, 0-4 GEL) fell to 0-4 in the league, head coach Michael Barron was incredibly proud of the team’s performance. The team played one of its best games all season. He just wished one of those three attempts at the end had gone in.

“I don’t even know if words can describe how proud I am of the fight the girls gave,” Barron said. “I’m more proud due to the struggles we have had to get a cohesive group going. Seeing the growth of the girls this season is very humbling for me. We came up short tonight, but the effort was incredible. Beyond proud. I got home last night replaying what I could have done differently, but we just missed against a good team. We battled them hard.”

The Wolves came into the matchup in a bit of a rough patch, losing their past three games to league opponents Dixon, Destiny Christian Academy, and Sutter by the scores of 67-31, 60-38, and 59-12, respectively. Their shining moment so far this year was a 52-30 win over Bradshaw Christian on Dec. 16.

The Rams (8-9, 1-3 GEL) came into the affair in a similar rut, having lost their opening league games to Sutter, Destiny Christian and Rio Linda. Before that, however, they enjoyed wins over Del Campo, Elk Grove, Roseville, and Sacramento, among others.“Their head coach does a great job and puts them in the right positions. They also move the ball really well and hit free throws,” Barron said. “They are a very young team, just like us, so we share some similarities.”

Woodland found themselves down by 10 with about five minutes to go in the first half. Senior captain Madilyn Watkins would drive to the hoop and make a basket to make it 23-15 but missed a free throw after drawing a foul, keeping the deficit at eight.

After Casa Rolbe extended the lead to 32-16, Woodland guard Mayte Leon Perez drained a 3-pointer to cut it to 32-19. Then, right before halftime, Watkins hit a 3 of her own to go into the half down 33-22.

Wolves junior Presley Pinegar kicked off the scoring for the home side with a thought basket inside to make it 33-25 right before Leon Perez made a shot to cut the lead further down to 33-27. With the momentum now on the Wolves’ side, Watkins made another shot from deep to make it a five-point game.

“We were down by 16, and Watkins brought the girls together and said we were going to fight to the very end,” Barron recalled. “I really saw her leadership skills come out in that key moment, and we really rallied and got back into the game after that. She was incredible.”

With about three minutes left in the third, Leon Perez took over the game, hitting back-to-back baskets in under 5 seconds of game time to make it 43-36. A minute later, she’d hit another 3-pointer, capping off a personal 8-0 run to make it 46-39 going into the fourth.

In the final quarter, things got really good. With just over five minutes left in the contest, the Rams held a tight 48-41 lead. Then, with about two minutes left, the lead shrunk by a point to 50-44.

A Watkins drive and teardrop into the net made it 50-46 right before Leon Perez channeled her inner Steph Curry and hit another 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.

“The team has really been different since Mayte got back in January,” Barron said. “She moves the ball really well and is not scared to make any pass. Her ability to play defense is also phenomenal. Offensively, she can light it up from anywhere. Sometimes, she goes a bit beyond the 3-point line, but she makes them more than she misses.”

Following a timeout, the Wolves got the ball back with under 30 seconds left to play, down by one, with a chance to hit a game-winner. Despite getting quality shots off from both Watkins and the sharpshooting Leon Perez, the rim in the Wolves gym would not budge and let the ball in, leading to a Rams rebound with 1 second left and a foul.

While the Rams missed both free throws, one second was not enough to rebound the ball, pass it up the court, and get a good look at the basket, leading to the final score of 50- 49.

Leon Perez finished the night with a game-high 20 points, while Watkins and Pinegar chipped in with 14 and 12, respectively.

Up next for the Wolves will be a league clash against Natomas set for Friday at 7 p.m. After that, they will enjoy the weekend before a busy week of matchups that includes a league match against Rio Linda next Tuesday, a non-league clash against city rivals Woodland Christian set for Wednesday, and a road league matchup against El Camino to close out the week next Friday.

“If we keep carrying that same fight, I think we can be in a lot of games for the rest of the year,” Barron proclaimed. “We are leading how to overcome adversity. The next step is to get those wins.”