After watching Xavier’s first two basketball games of the
season on Friday (Nov. 28) in the Scorpion Shootout at Goodyear Desert Edge –
the Gators are going to be worth the price of admission.
They are going to bring an exciting style of play with
aggressiveness on defense, a productive offense and a tireless work ethic.
They brought that to the table on Friday with their first
two wins of the season, 55-18 over Scottsdale Desert Mountain and 63-55 over
Buckeye Verrado.
With the win over Verrado, Xavier advanced to a winner’s
bracket game on Saturday (Nov. 29) at 1:30 p.m. against either Yuma Gila Ridge
or Prescott, which played a late game on Friday night.
Xavier utilized its pressure defense from the start against
Desert Mountain, essentially running the Wolves into the ground by forcing 28
turnovers.
The Verrado game had a much different tempo. It was a
physical contest in which 50 fouls were called, 29 on the Gators. Xavier would
grab a comfortable lead, only to have Verrado come back to within a few points.
Verrado’s only lead was 3-0 on a three-pointer to begin the
game, but the smaller Vipers hung tough.
“The girls did a great job adjusting,’’ said Xavier
second-year coach Frank Villa. “I told them, “Different teams are going to give
you different looks.’ That’s what we got today, a couple of different looks.’’
Junior Vanessa Murphy, a 6-foot-2 junior, clearly is Xavier’s
top player.
She can handle the ball when necessary against defensive
pressure, she crashes the boards and she plays solid defense.
Murphy scored a team-high 20 points against Verrado after a
9-point effort against Desert Mountain.
Senior point guard Michaela Palladino did a good job running
the offense and finding her teammates for higher-percentage shots as she did in
critical stages of the game against Verrado.
And the Gators have three promising freshmen – 6-1 Katie
Hassett, 5-11 Montana Oltrogge and 5-11 Alana Kelley.
Hassett had 8 points in the first game and 6 in the second.
Oltrogge had a team-high 14 in the first game and 10 in the second.
And Kelley had 10 in the first game – including a pair of
three-pointers – before going down just 23 seconds into the second game with an
injury to her left ankle. Villa said she was expected to get X-rays to
determine the severity and it is unknown how long she will be sidelined.
Kelley’s long-range shooting potential can bring defenses
out and open up the inside for Murphy and others. Kelley also can drive to the
basket and is aggressive on the boards.
Murphy and sophomore guard Brittany Robinson each connected
on a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter of the second game for the Gators
to minimize the chances that Verrado would be able to come back.
“Our defense is the whole key for us,’’ Villa said. “It
allows us to get points off the transition. Last year was tough on the girls in
terms of trying to learn what we were teaching them and being in shape, but now
they realize what we are trying to do, and the way we played today will help
them build some confidence.’’
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