"Successful sendoff for DHS seniors"
Reposted here with the permission of The Davis Enterprise - http://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/successful-sendoff-for-dhs-seniors/
Senior Night often presents teams with a twofold challenge: one, to win the actual game, and two, to secure the victory while providing the upperclassmen with memorable individual finishes to their careers.
On Friday night, the Davis High varsity girls basketball team did both.
Behind big efforts from seniors Tiffany Ho and Sara Sousa, the Blue Devils overcame an early deficit to rout Elk Grove 57-37 at The Cage.
Ho was dominant everywhere, crashing the offensive glass, leading the fast break, and stifling Elk Grove point guards when DHS pressed, en route to a team-high 13 points. Sousa also added the go-ahead 3-pointer and played suffocating defense.
The two seniors were in for nearly the entire second half, coming out of the game only in the final two minutes to a nice ovation from DHS fans.
"They played almost the whole game. It means something to them to (have won) this game," DHS head coach Karen Foster said. "They played 24/7 the whole time they were in there. (They played) great offense, great defense. They were shooting the ball. They got steal after steal.
"I couldn't ask for more from them. They were happy; everyone was smiling. You need to have fun (on the court)."
Early on, however, DHS struggled. The Thundering Herd took a 14-7 first quarter lead, and at times in the second quarter, appeared to be on the verge of pulling away. But a 3-pointer by Ho just before intermission cut the Elk Grove advantage to 23-22.
Sousa then opened the third quarter by drilling a baseline trey to give the Blue Devils a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Ho converted on a pair of reverse lay-ups, and Danika Carlisle hit two free throws to extend DHS' lead to 33-25.
From there, the Blue Devils continued to pull away. Ho dished out three assists in the final quarter and capped off the comeback with an easy lay-up, before exiting the game for the final time.
DHS also got solid contributions from its younger players. Juniors Becca Hassid and Ashleigh Vandenbrink each chipped in nine points, and Carlisle added five. Sophomore Danielle Gantar and freshman Emma Stenz had nine and six, respectively.
The win gives DHS a final record of 10-16 (3-7 in Delta Valley Conference play).
"We struggled a little bit this season, but we finished 10-16 and it's nice to get double-digit wins," Foster said. "We tried hard to win this game, and I'm glad they won it. It's good for them, good for morale.
"We'll just go back at it starting in about three or four weeks," the coach added. "We're only losing two (players), so we'll be ready to go."
