Franklin Defense Stunts Elk Grove Shooting

It may have been good defense or it may have been bad shooting, but whatever it was Franklin’s girls basketball team won its first Delta Valley Conference game of the year by defeating Elk Grove, 53-29, Friday night at the Wildcats’ gym.

In winning its eighth game overall the Wildcats (8-11, 1-2 DVC) managed to hold the conference’s leading scorer Carlee Gray to 13 points, five under her season average.

“We didn’t do a good job in the first half of keeping the ball out of her hands,” Franklin head coach Kay Parsons said. “But we did in the second half because she scored only one point.”

Gray made only two field goals in the game but made frequent trips to the free throw line where she was nine-of-15. The problem, though, was that the rest of the Elk Grove (9-11, 0-3 DVC) team really had a tough night shooting. They were just two-of-15 from the floor in the first half and ended six-for-28,  21 percent.

“The other players just weren’t looking for their own (shots),” Elk Grove coach Amanda Buck said. “We were so one-minded in trying to get the ball to Carlee, but they need to start looking for their own opportunities.”

Franklin built a 22-12 halftime lead and had its own trouble sinking the basketball in the second half, but behind a pair of key three pointers by Ashley Materelli and the offensive rebounding and put-backs by Lindsey Bedford, they built a 23-point lead, 42-19 by the end of the third quarter.

Franklin was led by Materelli and Ruky Yusufu who had 11 points apiece. Madison Wheeler had eight, Sandy Perez seven and Bedford, six points.

Notes:

Parsons says she’s still frustrated with her team’s shooting.

“We are getting plenty of good looks,” she said. “We had 71 shots at Grant but lost by eight. We just need the shots to start dropping.”

Friday the Wildcats finished strong and made 36 percent of their shots including five-for-11 from outside the arc.

The Wildcats lost a heart-breaker on Monday to Brookside Christian, one of the top small-school teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Parsons said they were tied with them with a minute to go, but lost just 64-61. Brookside has only lost twice this season, to Sacramento and to Pleasant Grove.