Golden Valley cranks up pressure in basketball win over Patterson

The Golden Valley girls’ full-court press was a big part of their success last season.

The Cougars turned up the pressure against Patterson on Tuesday night, forcing 27 turnovers on their way to a 50-41 win at Cougar Arena.

“The press has gotten better as the year has gone on,” said Golden Valley coach Matt Thissen, whose team improved to 7-2. “I think we were a little naive to think we would pick up where we left off last year. We’ve had to work on it some, and nine games in, we’ve got it about where we want it.”

Playing atop the Cougars’ 1-2-2, three-quarter court trap, Stephanie Moore causes havoc with her 5-foot-9 frame, athleticism and basketball IQ.

The senior who is headed to UC San Diego next year on scholarship seems to know where to be at all times and picked up eight steals to go with 20 points.

Moore spearheaded the Cougars’ 15-0 run in the second quarter that helped erase an eight-point deficit and give Golden Valley a 33-25 lead at the half.

“We were trying to figure out which defense worked best against them: man or zone,” Moore said. “Once we figured out how they countered everything, we knew where to pick up, and that’s when we figured things out. Once you get that first steal, you get some momentum going.”

The Cougars’ biggest adjustment in the second half was containing Patterson post player Danielle Jenkins, who dominated the paint with 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half.

The Golden Valley frontcourt of Abbee Croninger and Kayla Commons did a much better job of denying Jenkins the ball in the second half, limiting her to four points.

“She was a topic of conversation at halftime,” Thissen said. “In the first, (Croninger and Commons) got bullied a little bit. We challenged them at halftime, and they stepped up. They were more physical and defended better in the second half.”

Commons finished with nine points, six rebounds and six blocks. Croninger had eight points and seven rebounds.

With Jenkins disappearing from the offense, the Tigers only managed six points in the third quarter, failing to capitalize on holding Golden Valley scoreless for the first four minutes.

The Tigers cut the deficit to 33-29, but the Cougars closed the third quarter with a 7-2 run to build a 40-31 lead.

“It’s not (Jenkins) not scoring; it’s everybody else not doing something,” Patterson coach Elizabeth Tolleson said. “We can’t rely on one person. We have to have an all-around game. We have to force the defense to guard all five players and not just one.”

Jenkins finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cougars next play at Whitney-Rocklin on Dec. 22 and then head to San Diego after Christmas for the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.

Golden Valley point guard Delia Moore, who is rehabbing from a knee injury, is expected to play in the San Diego tournament.

Boys basketball

Merced 62, Livingston 46 in Merced – A.J. Stewart poured in 27 points as the Bears improved to 3-4. Jeremy Redwine had 11 points for Merced. Damien Albores hit three three-pointers and led Livingston (4-5) with 11 points.

Atwater 65, Oakdale 39 in Atwater – Chewy Garcia scored 18 points and Kyle Anaya 17 as the Falcons improved to 5-4 win a win over the Mustangs.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Golden Valley cranks up pressure in basketball win over Patterson."