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By Marcus D. Smith–
The girls varsity program at Mesa Verde High School has not seen a start to the season as strong as this one in the past decade and a half.
Mavericks head into the winter break with a record of 8-5 on the season despite losing, 58-40, to the Center Cougars in the Nighthawk Christmas Classic hosted at Natomas High School.
Mesa Verde have taken their play this season to new heights and have changed the expectations early on for their play in conference. The eight wins in preseason places the Mavericks in a position to win the most games in program history since 2005, where the team went 15-10 under Coach Jinguli.
“[We’re] looking forward to after-Christmas comeback and really prep for league,” said Mesa Verde Girls Varsity Head Coach Mark Toscano.
With over half the battle already complete, the girls will have to buckle down after the holiday break and come back focused on being a complete team if they look to win more games down the stretch.
Up to this point they have relied heavily on the play of junior forward Maleena Ridore, and the double-double she is averaging this season. She averages just about 13 points and 13 rebounds per game, on 49% from the field. She leads the team in each of those categories.
They look to move past the game against Center for plenty of reasons. The Mavericks led after the first quarter, but with 5:31 remaining in the second quarter they lost that lead and never would recover from the deficit.
This game however was taken over by the full-court trap defense installed by Center. Mesa was in a full-court trap in the game as well, Center really struggled to get through it in the first quarter.
Whether it was due to the team’s focus or fatigue, the second quarter was the turning point for the girls, as turnovers began to accumulate. If the ball wasn’t turned over, there were quick shots taken early in the shot clock that allowed Center to capitalize on the missed shots.
The girls will get a much needed break for the holidays and the new year, and then they will return to the court Jan. 7, when they face Hiram Johnson at 7 p.m.
This will be the last non-conference game. League begins on Jan. 10, opening against Pioneer High School. Both of these games will be played at Mesa Verde High School.
“We’ll just go through some stuff we need to work on — defensively, offensively and prepare to make a run at league,” said Toscano. “That’s our goal right now.”
Mesa Verde Boys Basketball Update
Mesa Verde is coming off of an 81-64 loss to Bella Vista High School. The Mavericks have not been able to put together a win in non-conference play so far.
Mesa Verde will compete in the Lindhurst tournament after the new year. They will first play Lindhurst on Jan. 2 at 5:30 p.m. The tournament will last from Jan. 2-4.
The Mavericks will have two games after the tournament before they open league play against Pioneer. Mesa Verde will be searching for their first win of the season in their pursuit.
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Sports Reporter Marcus D. Smith covers high school sports in Citrus Heights. Smith is a Sacramento-area native and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2017.
