Craft knocks down 3s in Bruins’ victory

SHINGLE SPRINGS — Ponderosa High girls basketball coach Noel O’Donnell knows Danielle Craft puts in extra time crafting her three-point shots.

“She lives a couple of houses down from me. I always see her out on the street shooting,” said O’Donnell on the freshman forward.

Craft canned four treys in the second quarter for 12 points, and accounted for more than half of the Bruins’ 23 points. That led to Ponderosa (1-3, 12-9) posting its first Delta River League victory of the season with a 75-35 win over Folsom.

The Lady Bruins were ahead 16-10 after the first quarter before Craft shot from different spots behind the arc. If Craft wasn’t shooting treys, she was taking the entry pass into the paint. Craft finished the game with 21 points. Ponderosa had 14 three-pointers in the game.

“Another thing that really impresses me about Danielle is how well she sees the floor,” O’Donnell said. “She’s making really good decisions on when to shoot and when to pass. She’s going to be a leader for us.”

Bruin senior forward Ashley Beck, one of the team captains, was one of three players who joined Craft in scoring in double figures with 17 points. Another senior forward, Brooke Sinner, finished with 11 points.

“I thought we really worked as a team,” Beck said. “We worked the ball really well.”

Beck was one of many players who forced the Bulldogs into turnovers at mid-court, near the arc and inside the paint that set up many of the Bruins’ points.

“We got a lot of shots off,” Beck said.

The Bruins silenced the Bulldogs from the scoring standpoint in the second and third quarters; Folsom scored a combined 15 points that included three in the third quarter.

Leading 39-22 at halftime, Ponderosa continued its defensive assault on Folsom’s offense, forcing four turnovers within two minutes in the third quarter. That led to a 14-1 run for a 53-23 lead.

Bruin guard Morgan Martinenko, center Tiffany Nesterenko and forward Sophia George scored five points each. Freshman forward Maddie Clayton finished with four points and guard Danielle Becker two. Folsom guard Tori Harris led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.

Ponderosa continues to battle for a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff berth. Beck feels her squad will continue to become better. This Thursday, Ponderosa will have a showdown with intra-county rival and top ranked Oak Ridge at the Bruins’ gym.

“I think our goals are to have less turnovers and control the ball better under pressure,” Beck said.

Contact Mike Bush at 530-344-5079 or mbush@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @MBushMtDemo on Twitter. 

Mike Bush

Mike Bush has been working at the Mountain Democrat since August 2011. Mike is the Sports Writer and Features Writer.

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