Now they are
in the tournament, and it is time for them to develop a winning mentality.
For much of
the first half against Glendale Cactus on Saturday (June 23), the Gators did
not show that trait very much. They trailed by five points at halftime.
The second
half was a different story. Xavier outscored the Cobras 36-18 in the next 20
minutes to earn a 55-42 victory. And the Gators did it without two of their top
players, senior point guard Leilani McIntosh and junior forward-guard Elysia
Fleetwood, who were not available.
Xavier heads
to the next round, on Sunday (June 24) with a 4 p.m. game against either
Phoenix Sunnyslope or Laveen Cesar Chavez. Semifinals and finals are Monday
(June 25).
Gators coach
Jennifer Gillom said her team learned to play without a key player last season
when star forward Montana Oltrogge had to sit out for a few weeks with shin
splints. They are facing a similar scenario now.
“You have to
keep playing, rely on what you do best,’’ Gillom said.
One player
who stepped up in a big way on Saturday was senior guard Addie Putnam. When
McIntosh is in the lineup, Putnam sits out on the wing much of the time,
letting the ball fly on her trademark 3-point shot.
Against
Cactus, her role expanded to ball-handling in addition to shooting, and playing
defense. She appears to be in much better shape than last season, with more
quickness and agility, and Gillom said part of that can be attributed to
Putnam’s desire to earn a college scholarship.
Putnam
finished with 29 points.
Another
player making an impact was sophomore Tori Saucedo. She scored eight points,
all in the second half.
“She was a
big contributor out there. She is kind of quiet, but she does some good
stuff,’’ Gillom said. “She is another option for us, and that’s what we need.’’
The coach
wants her players to continue to be aggressive, just like they were in the
second half.
“The players
made up their minds that they were going to attack the basket,’’ she said.
They will
need improvement with their rebounding by keeping their opponents away from the
basket as much as possible. Cactus often put up second and third shots in the
first half, but that didn’t occur nearly as much in the second half as Xavier
came back.
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