GIRLS BASKETBALL: Santa Cruz Falls to Scotts Valley in Early League Showdown

The Score: Scotts Valley 61, Santa Cruz 49

The Star: Strong showings by Kali Dehart and Pauli Pappas were not enough to lift the Cardinals past the Falcons.

The Turning Point: A defensively sluggish first quarter doomed the Cardinals from the onset. The Falcons came out quick and put up a 25-15 first quarter lead that the Cardinals could not overcome.

The Quote: “We just came out flat from the beginning, and it just kind of carried on. We just didn’t have that spark,” said Ashley Claussen. The 16-year-old guard for the Cardinals hit a tough 3-point jumper as time expired. “We just couldn’t come back and get it.”

What’s Next? The Santa Cruz Cardinals will host the Soquel Knights on Friday night.

Bottom Line: It was a disappointing loss for the Cardinals, who were previously undefeated in league play. A pair of late rallies could not help them get ahead as they trailed the entire game. The size and strength of the Falcons held the quickness and agility of the Cardinals in check all night.

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The Santa Cruz High girls basketball team was defeated 61-49 by Scotts Valley High on Tuesday night in a juicy matchup of two undefeated Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League girls basketball teams.

Held in check for the majority of the evening, the Cardinals’ speedy offense was frustrated by the Falcons’ size and strong presence within the paint. Despite the outcome of the game, there were several bright spots for the Cardinals to build upon.

The Cardinals’ defense was impressive after the first quarter, holding the Falcons to only 36 points for the rest of the game. The quick hands of the Cardinals created many turnovers throughout the night and created opportunities to get back in the game.

Santa Cruz (13-4, 4-1 in SCCAL play) cut the deficit down to five points twice, but the Falcons managed to extend the lead both times. Missed shots at key opportunities by Santa Cruz players allowed the Falcons to shift the momentum back and keep the Cardinals at bay.

The girls from Santa Cruz took good care of the ball and forced the Falcons to make plays and earn their win.

In the end, the size of the Scotts Valley (14-4, 6-0 in the SCCAL) frontcourt proved to be the difference maker as it dominated in the rebounding department, especially on the offensive glass. Allowing the Falcons to have second and third chances gave Scotts Valley the ability to kill the clock and nurse their lead all game.

“I think we could have done a better job on the boards and stopping them inside” said Santa Cruz coach Pat Jones. “We let them shoot a real high percentage throughout the game. They’re a lot bigger than us and they took advantage of that.”

A fantastic shot at the final buzzer by guard Ashley Claussen was quite possibly the highlight of the night. The fade-away jumper went just over a Falcon’s outstretched hand and fell in as time expired.

Santa Cruz played three solid quarters of basketball. Jones plans to work with the team on coming out strong in the first half.

“We’ve been a good second-half team and we’ve kind of gotten away with that. It’s something we need to work on, coming out and being ready for the tip.”