Natomas no match for balanced Blue Devil girls, 60-37

SACRAMENTO — This one was over before halftime.

With her team taking a 28-point lead into intermission, Davis High girls basketball coach Karen Foster emptied the bench as the Blue Devils cruised home with a 60-37 nonleague road victory over Natomas on Tuesday.

The outstanding guard play of Kylie Drexel continued and Ashleigh Vandenbrink again brought the hammer with a game-high 16 points in limited action.

“Kylie’s been playing well,” Foster reported of her three-sport standout. “She’s getting her basketball feet back under her. And Ashleigh … She could have scored at will, gone off for 50.”

Drexel, who canned but four points, was providing opportunities for teammates when she broke the Nighthawks’ zone, drew double teams and dished to crashing colleagues.

Among the beneficiaries of Drexel’s inside moves was Lauren Cordano.

Filling in for Emma Stenz (flu), Cordano scored six points, grabbed a handful of rebounds and played solid defense in the paint as DHS dominated a struggling Natomas (0-4).

“Lauren stepped up and played the post well,” Foster said. “It was nice to get everyone in the books.”

Freshman guard Anna Belenis carded six points, Danielle Gantar added a strong six and Tori Powell and Jamie Kingsley tallied four each.

Becca Hassid (three points), Kira Prieditis (two), Daisy McKim (two), Rachael Allison (two) and Maya Tarasenko (one) rounded out the scoring.

Vandenbrink and Cordano were the game’s top rebounders, according to Foster.

Next up for Davis (5-1) is a matchup with Tracy (3-2) in the Napa Wine Country Invitational on Thursday (6:30 p.m.) at Napa High. In Round 2 on Friday, the Blue Devils will get the winner of the Morro Bay/Napa contest.

Sophomore wing Cailtin Mazzoleni — who suffered a groin injury in Saturday’s Dorothy Speck Memorial title game — was out Tuesday. Foster says she could come back for the Napa series, but doesn’t want to rush her: “I told her she has to be 100 percent well to play, so she’s still iffy (for Thursday).”