Atwater girls basketball improves to 11-0 at home with NorCal playoff win over Pioneer
The Atwater High girls basketball team is always looking to push the pace with its full-court press against any opponent.
The Falcons coaching staff couldn’t stress that point enough against a Pioneer team that had just eight players on Tuesday night.
Atwater wanted to pressure and wear down the short-handed Mustangs and the strategy paid off as the No. 8 seeded Falcons defeated No. 9 Pioneer of San Jose 74-48 in the first round of the Northern California Regional Division III playoffs at Falcon Arena.
“We wanted to do what we do,” said Atwater coach JR Davis, whose team improved to 25-7. “We knew that (Pioneer’s Madison Fujii) plays all game and she’s all they’ve got. We wanted to get her moving and try to tire her out.”
Fujii saw a variety of defenders as she was forced to bring the ball up the majority of the time against the Falcons’ press.
The Mustangs senior still managed to score 25 points, but Atwater outscored Pioneer 17 to 4 in the second quarter to open up a 36-18 lead.
“We knew we wanted to come out quick and play fast,” said Falcons junior Karissa Hukill, who scored a game-high 26 points. “We saw how (Pioneer) played and we felt we could have success if we executed the right way.”
The Falcons came out draining 3-pointers, combining for nine shots from beyond the arc on the night.
Jolie Hart sank five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. Hukill added three 3-pointers.
“We shot really well,” Davis said. “Jolie’s shot came back. She found it tonight. It’s good to get her going again.”
Atwater’s 6-foot-4 center Cami Gibson added 10 points.
The Falcons were excited to get an unexpected home game when they were moved down to Division III for the NorCal playoffs. Atwater improved to 11-0 at home this season.
“We were excited when we found out we were playing at home,” Hukill said. “We love getting the crowd support. Playing at home is a pretty good advantage for us. We try to treat every away game like it’s a home game, but we practice every day here so we like to shoot in this place.”
The Falcons will travel to No. 1 University High in San Francisco on Thursday for a quarterfinal matchup at Kezar Pavilion at 7 p.m. University defeated No. 16 Northgate 67-28 on Tuesday night.
