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WINDSOR — Roosevelt and Windsor ran, ran and ran some more on Wednesday.
While the Wizards put forth their best effort in keeping pace with the high-octane Rough Riders, ultimately, few if any squads in Class 4A run quite like Gabby Ramirez and her Roosevelt teammates
Led by their blazing quick senior point guard, Ramirez, the Rough Riders went on one final run, putting the final touches on a dramatic, back-and-forth matchup between the two top teams in the Tri-Valley Conference. In front of a near-capacity capacity crowd at Reg Figal Gymnasium, Roosevelt edged Windsor, 72-67, to move to within one win of securing the conference title.
Ramirez had game-highs of 28 points, nine assists and six steals to go with six rebounds — statistics extraordinary for most but average for Ramirez.
“Gabby is the best player in the state,” Rough Riders coach Randy Longoria said. “If there is someone better, I haven’t seen them. For my money — and I’m saying that objectively — she’s the best player in the state, and when she is in a groove, she’s very difficult not just to stop, but even to get off track at all.”
With four Roosevelt double-digit scorers and three players with six or more rebounds — led by senior Erin Seele (13 points, game-high 13 boards) — the Rough Riders (11-0 Tri-Valley, 15-5) made play after play to withstand a spirited effort by the Wizards (9-2, 15-4).
No play was more critical than Ramirez’s halfcourt steal and assist to junior Kylee Placke with 7 seconds left to seal the win.
Windsor had the ball down just 70-67 with 24 seconds left. The Wizards attempted to set up a potential tying 3-pointer, but Ramirez zipped in front of a Brooke Pemberton pass, took a few steps up court and lasered a pass to Placke, who was wide open under the hoop for a fastbreak bucket.
The basket clinched the most tightly contested conference win of the season for the Rough Riders, which entered the game having outscored Tri-Valley foes by an average of 67-41 points per game.
“It was fun,” Ramirez said of the back-and-forth game. “It was good to have a challenge finally, and it was a good win for us. We needed this.”
Placke’s late layup was one of few easy buckets for Roosevelt. Windsor defenders shadowed every move Ramirez and her Rough Riders teammates made.
Even against a suffocating Wizards defense, Roosevelt kept shooting and kept converting.
Arguably no one was as clutch down the stretch as Rough Riders junior guard Becky Eidson, who scored nine of her 10 points in the second half, sinking three 3-pointers; two in the fourth quarter.
“It was a time in which we had to step up and we had to get ahead,” Eidson said of her timely 3s. “It was a crucial situation where we needed to bring it up a notch and get (the momentum) to where we can win.”
The Wizards didn’t go down without a fight.
Windsor gained its first lead since the first half when senior Kellie Ash (team-high 20 points) sank a long 2-pointer to open the fourth, putting the Wizards up 53-52.
“She’s done that all year for us — not only making the big shot, but on defense and with overall leadership,” Wizards coach Gary Perko said of Ash’s contributions. “She’s really just stepped up and been a leader for our team.”
After Ash’s jumper, Eidson came back with a 3 on the very next play to again give Roosevelt the lead.
Ash was fouled on a driving layup, sinking both free throws, to trim the gap to 64-61 with 3:46 left.
Again Eidson answered. Ramirez drove and dished to Eidson on the wing for another 3 to put the Rough Riders ahead, 67-61.
Neither team allowed the other an unanswered run. Roosevelt began to pull away, going up 35-27 on a Seele layup with 1:49 left in the first half.
Windsor closed the half on a 5-1 run, trimming the gap to 36-32 on Maggie Griggs’ putback layup with 30 seconds left in the second.
Again the Rough Riders threatened to add to their long list of blowout wins when Seele sank a putback layup to extend Roosevelt’s lead to 52-45 with 1:42 left in the third.
The Wizards came right back with an Ash driving layup, a Korbyn Ukasick corner 3 and a Miranda Geist free throw — all in a 1 minute stretch — to trim the gap to 52-51 entering the nip-and-tuck fourth quarter.
In short, Windsor did all it could to maintain contact and position itself for an upset win against the perennially conference-title contending Rough Riders.
“I think (Windsor players) were building up to this game since last time we played Roosevelt, and I thought our intensity the whole game was great,” Perko said. “In that one little stretch (late in the fourth), we made a few turnovers, and you can’t do that against Roosevelt. ... But our effort was fantastic. I loved the effort of our girls.”
RHS 20 16 16 20 — 72
WHS 19 13 19 16 — 67
RHS — Sydney Jacox 6 1-2 15, Lauren Cooper 1 0-0 2, Erin Seele 5 3-6 13, Kylee Placke 1 0-0 2, Becky Eidson 3 1-2 10, Haley Placke 1 0-0 2, Gabby Ramirez 10 4-7 28. Totals 27 9-17 72.
WHS — Aimee Jo Harris 1 0-0 2, Alysa Manicone 3 4-5 11, Korbyn Ukasick 6 0-0 16, Kellie Ash 8 3-4 20, Brooke Pemberton 1 1-2 3, Whitnee Pearcey 4 0-0 8, Maggie Griggs 1 0-0 2, Miranda Geist 1 1-2 3, Amanda Young 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 9-13 67.
3-point field goals — RHS 9 (Ramirez 4, Eidson 3, Jacox 2); WHS 6 (Ukasick 4, Ash, Manicone).
Total fouls — RHS 12; WHS 16.
While the Wizards put forth their best effort in keeping pace with the high-octane Rough Riders, ultimately, few if any squads in Class 4A run quite like Gabby Ramirez and her Roosevelt teammates
Led by their blazing quick senior point guard, Ramirez, the Rough Riders went on one final run, putting the final touches on a dramatic, back-and-forth matchup between the two top teams in the Tri-Valley Conference. In front of a near-capacity capacity crowd at Reg Figal Gymnasium, Roosevelt edged Windsor, 72-67, to move to within one win of securing the conference title.
Ramirez had game-highs of 28 points, nine assists and six steals to go with six rebounds — statistics extraordinary for most but average for Ramirez.
“Gabby is the best player in the state,” Rough Riders coach Randy Longoria said. “If there is someone better, I haven’t seen them. For my money — and I’m saying that objectively — she’s the best player in the state, and when she is in a groove, she’s very difficult not just to stop, but even to get off track at all.”
With four Roosevelt double-digit scorers and three players with six or more rebounds — led by senior Erin Seele (13 points, game-high 13 boards) — the Rough Riders (11-0 Tri-Valley, 15-5) made play after play to withstand a spirited effort by the Wizards (9-2, 15-4).
No play was more critical than Ramirez’s halfcourt steal and assist to junior Kylee Placke with 7 seconds left to seal the win.
Windsor had the ball down just 70-67 with 24 seconds left. The Wizards attempted to set up a potential tying 3-pointer, but Ramirez zipped in front of a Brooke Pemberton pass, took a few steps up court and lasered a pass to Placke, who was wide open under the hoop for a fastbreak bucket.
The basket clinched the most tightly contested conference win of the season for the Rough Riders, which entered the game having outscored Tri-Valley foes by an average of 67-41 points per game.
“It was fun,” Ramirez said of the back-and-forth game. “It was good to have a challenge finally, and it was a good win for us. We needed this.”
Placke’s late layup was one of few easy buckets for Roosevelt. Windsor defenders shadowed every move Ramirez and her Rough Riders teammates made.
Even against a suffocating Wizards defense, Roosevelt kept shooting and kept converting.
Arguably no one was as clutch down the stretch as Rough Riders junior guard Becky Eidson, who scored nine of her 10 points in the second half, sinking three 3-pointers; two in the fourth quarter.
“It was a time in which we had to step up and we had to get ahead,” Eidson said of her timely 3s. “It was a crucial situation where we needed to bring it up a notch and get (the momentum) to where we can win.”
The Wizards didn’t go down without a fight.
Windsor gained its first lead since the first half when senior Kellie Ash (team-high 20 points) sank a long 2-pointer to open the fourth, putting the Wizards up 53-52.
“She’s done that all year for us — not only making the big shot, but on defense and with overall leadership,” Wizards coach Gary Perko said of Ash’s contributions. “She’s really just stepped up and been a leader for our team.”
After Ash’s jumper, Eidson came back with a 3 on the very next play to again give Roosevelt the lead.
Ash was fouled on a driving layup, sinking both free throws, to trim the gap to 64-61 with 3:46 left.
Again Eidson answered. Ramirez drove and dished to Eidson on the wing for another 3 to put the Rough Riders ahead, 67-61.
Neither team allowed the other an unanswered run. Roosevelt began to pull away, going up 35-27 on a Seele layup with 1:49 left in the first half.
Windsor closed the half on a 5-1 run, trimming the gap to 36-32 on Maggie Griggs’ putback layup with 30 seconds left in the second.
Again the Rough Riders threatened to add to their long list of blowout wins when Seele sank a putback layup to extend Roosevelt’s lead to 52-45 with 1:42 left in the third.
The Wizards came right back with an Ash driving layup, a Korbyn Ukasick corner 3 and a Miranda Geist free throw — all in a 1 minute stretch — to trim the gap to 52-51 entering the nip-and-tuck fourth quarter.
In short, Windsor did all it could to maintain contact and position itself for an upset win against the perennially conference-title contending Rough Riders.
“I think (Windsor players) were building up to this game since last time we played Roosevelt, and I thought our intensity the whole game was great,” Perko said. “In that one little stretch (late in the fourth), we made a few turnovers, and you can’t do that against Roosevelt. ... But our effort was fantastic. I loved the effort of our girls.”
RHS 20 16 16 20 — 72
WHS 19 13 19 16 — 67
RHS — Sydney Jacox 6 1-2 15, Lauren Cooper 1 0-0 2, Erin Seele 5 3-6 13, Kylee Placke 1 0-0 2, Becky Eidson 3 1-2 10, Haley Placke 1 0-0 2, Gabby Ramirez 10 4-7 28. Totals 27 9-17 72.
WHS — Aimee Jo Harris 1 0-0 2, Alysa Manicone 3 4-5 11, Korbyn Ukasick 6 0-0 16, Kellie Ash 8 3-4 20, Brooke Pemberton 1 1-2 3, Whitnee Pearcey 4 0-0 8, Maggie Griggs 1 0-0 2, Miranda Geist 1 1-2 3, Amanda Young 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 9-13 67.
3-point field goals — RHS 9 (Ramirez 4, Eidson 3, Jacox 2); WHS 6 (Ukasick 4, Ash, Manicone).
Total fouls — RHS 12; WHS 16.
Game notes
» Player of the game: Roosevelt senior guard Gabby Ramirez can probably count on one hand the number of times she’s stepped on the court this season and not been the unanimous best player of the floor. She didn’t disappoint on Wednesday.
Though Windsor senior Kellie Ash (20 points, 2 steals) did all she could to help the Wizards nearly score an upset, Ramirez was at least as important in the Rough Riders’ win, recording game-highs of 28 points, nine assists and six steals. Despite her 5-foot-1 frame, Ramirez certainly didn’t play small, shooting 10-of-21 from the field and pulling down six rebounds. » Key numbers: The Rough Riders are ranked 11th in Class 4A in the latest MaxPreps statewide poll. The Wizards are ranked 14th. ... Because of the non-stop, up-and-down pace of the game, both teams received their fair share of shot attempts. Roosevelt shot 27-of-67 (40 percent) and Windsor shot 26-of-63 (41 percent). ... The Wizards had 14 turnovers compared to 11 for the Rough Riders. ... Roosevelt had four double-digit scorers: Ramirez (28), Sydney Jacox (15), Erin Seele (13) and Becky Eidson (10). ... Windsor had three double-digit scorers: Ash (20), Korbyn Ukasick (16) and Alysa Manicone (11). ... Both teams lit it up from beyond the arc. The Rough Riders had nine 3s, led by Ramirez’s four. Windsor had six. Ukasick had a game-high four treys. ... Roosevelt had 36 rebounds led by Seele’s 13. The Wizards had 37 boards, led by Miranda Geist’s 10, including nine in the third quarter alone. » What it means: Roosevelt (11-0 Tri-Valley, 15-5 overall) moves just one win or a Windsor loss from securing its second straight Tri-Valley Conference title. The Rough Riders wrap up conference play against Sterling (2-8, 4-14), Skyline (6-5, 10-10) and Frederick (3-7, 6-12). Roosevelt will try to continue to thrive despite playing without second-leading scorer, senior Tiffany Trimble, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in the Rough Riders’ 62-47 win against Erie on Jan. 31. The Wizards (9-2, 15-4) have a comfortable hold on the conference’s second spot, ahead of third-place Erie (7-4, 10-10). Windsor wraps up league play against Fort Morgan (2-8, 3-15), Frederick and Northridge (2-8, 7-12). Bobby Fernandez |
