Lady Blue Devils follow Drexel, Tarasenko past Cards

ELK GROVE — This one was a complete team effort.

A quintet of reserve seniors — Danika Carlisle, Kylie Drexel, Becca Hassid, Daisy McKim and Maya Tarasenko — started Friday’s meeting with Laguna Creek, helping the Davis High girls roll to a 73-44 road basketball victory.

“This was a good morale boost for those girls,” Blue Devil coach Karen Foster said, adding that each has “contributed during the season, but (none) sees a whole of playing time.

“It was good, too, to rest the girls who have been playing a lot. We got a lot of noise from the bench in this game.”

DHS (20-4) is now 7-1 and tied for first place in the Delta Valley Conference. Come Tuesday on the road, that deadlock will be broken when the Lady Blue Devils take on Monterey Trail (18-7, 7-1). On Jan. 18, Davis lost 71-61 to the Mustangs at home.

Against the Cardinals (3-17, 0-8), the Devils followed Drexel’s 15-point night to win for the 13th time in 14 games (and for the fourth straight outing).

“She had a phenomenal game,” Foster said of Drexel, who also stars for the DHS lacrosse team. “Offense, including assists. On defense. She just played very well.”

Laguna Creek, which had been hammered 78-19 at Davis on Jan. 15, actually had a 15-13 lead after one period. But things settled into another rout when the Blue Devils outscored their hosts, 26-7, in the second quarter.

With forward Maya Tarasenko’s 12 points and solid defense augmenting Drexel’s big night, DHS stretched its lead in each of the final two stanzas.

Guard Hassid added seven points, Carlisle had four and McKim canned two. The trio were lauded by Foster for their efforts on both ends of the court.

Sophomores Emma Stenz and Caitlin Mazzoleni both had eight points off the bench and freshman Rachael Allison added five. Tori Powell and Lauren Cordano had four apiece and Danielle Gantar hit for two.

With the DVC title on the line in two days, Devil attention turns to getting healthy.

Leading scorer and rebounder Ashleigh Vandenbrink sat out Friday’s win, nursing a swollen ankle from an injury against Grant on Tuesday. Foster says her senior forward should be available for Tuesday’s big game at Monterey Trail.

How healthy will she be? Foster says time will tell: “It was still swollen Friday.We’re being patient with it. Seems like she sprains that ankle every season. But she was in good spirits.”

Junior center Jamie Kingsley (flu) missed her second game of the week. Foster said she’s expected back, too.

The good news? Davis is assured of a playoff berth with more than 16 wins. The trick now is for the eighth-ranked team in the CIF power rankings to at least hold position when the brackets are released on Feb. 13.

As it stands, the Lady Blue Devils probably gets a first-round home game. But with a win Tuesday and another Friday (when Franklin comes to The Cage) DHS might earn a lofty postseason seeding.