JV/frosh roundup: Davis basketball teams remain on fire

The Davis High junior varsity girls continued Delta Valley Conference basketball play, netting two victories to improve their league mark to 6-2 and their overall record to 16-8.

Last Tuesday, the Lady Blue Devils hosted Grant — a team they narrowly defeated in their first conference outing.

However, this game took a different tone from the opening tip, with DHS dominating ball possession on their way to a 56-28 win over Pacers.

It was the Sophie Seng Show as the Devils built a 30-9 halftime lead. The local forward grabbed four of her six steals and scored 12 of her season-high 18 points before the intermission.

Then, with Seng getting another quick six points after the break, Davis sprinted ahead 45-14 after three quarters.

The Blue Devil also got strong contributions from point guard Kelly Goedde-Matthews (11 points and three steals), Alaina King (eight points, five steals), center Essence Moore (seven rebounds, three blocks) and forward Faith Harlan (four points, four boards).

On Friday, DHS traveled to Laguna Creek and defeated the Cardinals, 54-16. Still, unlike in Tuesday’s game, the Devils came out of the gates slowly and led just 18-10 at halftime.

But Davis turned up both the intensity in the second half, scoring at will and forcing many turnovers to go on a 26-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters and put it up 44-12 early in the final period.

In the most balanced scoring sheet of the season, reserve guard/forward Jeanne-Marie McPherson’s eight points paced the Blue Devils.

Freshman centers Jessica Boyers (six points) and Emily Lopez-Ichikawa (four points) saw extended minutes and each grabbed six rebounds, matching reserve guard Jamie Bautista. Harlan continued her role as a leader off the bench, contributing seven points.

With the victory, DHS has now captured 15 of its last 19 games.

DHS JV boys basketball

The Blue Devils (18-5, 7-1 Delta Valley Conference) took two more steps toward a league title by outlasting Grant, 52-47, on the Pacers’ home court Wednesday and burying Laguna Creek, 77-35, Friday at The DHS gym.

First, Davis avenged its previous loss to Grant by defending the paint and making key plays down the stretch. The Devils trailed by three at the half, but kept up the pressure and held onto a small fourth-quarter lead.

In that contest, Nate Curtis led the way with 14 points, while grabbing eight rebounds and making a key steal in the final seconds to seal the win. Carl Burton-Hill added 10 points and seven boards, Drew Gnos contributed nine points and three steals and Ryan Kreidler snagged 11 rebounds to go with six points. Also for DHS, Kevin Austin posted five points, six assists and five steals; Glen Welch had five points, five rebounds and four assists; Bailey Yarrow hit a trey; and Jerid Roberson hauled in three boards.

On Friday, Davis responded to the extra fan support of Break The Record Night by piling up 31 steals in the big win over The Creek. The Blue Devils dominated the entire game, pushing their lead to as high as 40 points by the final quarter, where they held the Cardinals to four points. Kreidler paced the locals with 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals; Welch added 12 points, four boards and four steals; and Curtis posted 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Other Davis contributions came from Liam Neville (seven points and two rebounds), Dylan Klein (three steals and a basket) and Andrew Bolich (two boards).

DHS freshman boys basketball

The Blue Devils have used a team approach to run out to a 14-3 overall record including a 6-1 mark that is good for second place in the Delta River League.

According to coach Dino Clark, a season highlight has been beating both Jesuit’s Red and Gold teams for the first time ever in the same year.

DHS beat Ponderosa, 42-39, on Friday and is now set to play Folsom at home, then rematches with the Marauders’ Red and Gold squads on the road to complete the year.

“(It) has been a team effort with everyone contributing,” Clark said. “Our defense is our offense and the press is working well, creating turnovers and wearing down our opponents.

“The team consists of a lot of speed, size, athleticism, relentlessness, tenacity and a great group of boys that enjoy being with each other.”

That group includes leading scorer Ben Prussel (15 ppg) and fellow guards Matt Cheung, Nathan Hassid, Will Bodendorfer, Scott Dunn, Tyler Crowell, Spencer Ault and Mitchell Williams.

Other contributions are coming from post players Zach Johnson — the team’s leading rebounder — Tommy McTygue, Pierce Tujo, Cole Skaggs, Josh Evans, Reese Peterson and Rodil Henriquez.