Lady Warrior Basketball
Lady Warrior MacKenzie Eberle, #4, drives around a Frontier defender in quarter-final action
in the Garces Basketball tournament. Photo by Allysa Jones, Summit Photography
Posted by Tom Shea, The Tehachapi News, on January 5, 2010 Lady Warriors Tame The Cougars
After a heartbreaking two-point loss against Burroughs at the conclusion of the Antelope Valley Tournament, the Lady Warriors rebounded from the defeat in a big way against McFarland in the Garces Holiday Hoops Challenge with a convincing 52-33 victory.
Amanda Viselli led the way in scoring against the Cougars, hitting 5-8 from three-point land to finish with 17 points, while also adding five assists, three steals and two rebounds.
"It was a good start for us, McFarland had a good team and for us to come out like we did was important," said coach Mark Bennett. "We learned a lot from playing against the teams that we did (in this tourney) and that should help prepare us for league."
The Lady Warriors jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first quarter against the Cougars and never looked back, with strong performances coming from Persephonie Devereaux with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Alyssa Cowee with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and a block.
Mackenzie Eberle also had a good all-around game against McFarland with two points, three assists, three blocks and two rebounds, while Summer Schwecke had six points and three rebounds.
Tehachapi (5-6) also played Frontier in the tourney quarterfinals, falling to one of Kern County and the section's top teams, 64-40.
"They (Frontier) had a tough press, in the second half they were getting the turnovers and we only had eight girls at our disposal. We just ran out of gas," added Bennett. "We hung right with them though and we're proud of the girls for that."
Injuries and illness played a part in the defeat, with players battling the flu and cold. Tehachapi was also without the services of talented senior Kayley Duxbury, who is recovering from a knee injury and is expected to return in four to six weeks.
"Having Kayley back in a few weeks will help us, her contribution is important in our success," Bennett said.
Leading contributors against Frontier included Persephonie Devereaux with a double-double (14 points and 13 rebounds), Amanda Viselli with 13 points and three steals and Alyssa Cowee with five points and seven rebounds.
Rachel Duff also had four points and a steal, Mackenzie Eberle had four points, three assists and three rebounds, Bre Farinas had five rebounds and two assists, and Hannah Ricker had two assists and five rebounds.
The Lady Warriors also had two other Garces Tournament games and those results will be highlighted next week.
"Even though we are still in the pre-season, every game is important," said Bennett. "Once we get healthy we'll be alright. They're improving and playing more like a team every time they take the court. We want to continue to get better."