With both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams under threat of not making playoffs, both have managed to win their last league games. The boys’ basketball team pulled off a 65-58 win against Placer High School on Jan. 15, while the girls’ team beat Lincoln 71-38 on Jan. 12. According to CIF regulations a team must place among the top two to three slots in a league to earn a playoff berth. This jeopardizes both teams with the boys’ team currently ranked fifth in the Pioneer Valley League and the girls’ team at fourth. Both teams’ still have a spot at playoffs if they manage to bump off the number third and fourth ranked teams, Placer for boys’ basketball and Bear River for girls’ basketball. Starting senior Cody Borst knew going into the Placer match up that they had to win in order to have a chance at playoffs.
“At 1-3 we don’t really have a shot at making playoffs, but now at 2-2 we are back in the hunt,” Borst said.
The boys’ basketball team is headed by Coach Bryce Newell who has led the team so far to a 10-9 record with a winning percentage of .526. Overall the team has scored 990 points total and allowed 987 points against them. Their current rank in the state is only at 400 after leaving the season last year ranked at 184. The team’s ranking in the San Joaquin Section is currently at 56, behind half of its PVL opponents.
With a senior-dominated team, four of the five starters are seniors and all four lead the team in scoring. The leading scorer for the team is Borst with 225 points and following is senior Eric Gee with 148 points. Also with the highest points per game average is Borst at 15 and Gee at 9.9. Both have been two-year starters for the varsity team, leading last year’s team to its first third round playoff berth. With a record of 2-2 in league, Coach Newell felt that the recent win at Placer really helped their placement in league so far.
“This is a tough league and you definitely want to win all the home games and we really needed this one,” Newell said.
On the other side of Wildcat basketball, the girls’ basketball team has a record of 13-7, having lost only by a few points to their last two league opponents. Their recent league loss against Colfax came down to a buzzer beater which put the team down 50-48. Their current state ranking is at 318, while their San Joaquin Section ranking is at 39. The team has put up 982 points and has only allowed 780 points.
Leading the girls’ basketball team with the most points is senior Kristina Fahey with a total of 240 points, followed by sophomore Alex Rodriguez. Fahey, who also leads the PVL with the highest scoring percentage, will be attending Sonoma State next year on a scholarship to play basketball. With a record of 2-3 in league, the team has been facing a tough league schedule with El Dorado leading the bunch. Coach Joel Williams feels that this season has been a big testing ground for the team.
“It seems that there is more depth in the league from top to bottom than there has been in several years,” Williams said. “This is the first time since I can remember that you have to be at your very best each night, otherwise somebody is going to beat you.”
By JONATHAN POSEY
