Video: Northridge women’s basketball sprints to defeat Tree of Life in opening game
Ava Travis’ 23 points led Northridge to a 41-23 victory over visiting Tree of Life.
JOHNSTOWN — The Northridge girls basketball team had the right ingredients to make a holiday feast during Wednesday’s season opener. The Vikings are now hoping they can keep this situation from stagnating.
Northridge used his size and athleticism to gain an edge defensively. In this game, the Vikings won 41-23 against visiting Tree of Life.
Northridge took advantage of its speed on the perimeter with senior Kenzie Hannas leading the way at the point, and sophomores Eva Travis and Ruby Cermak on the wings put full-court pressure on Tree of Life. He quickly switched from defense to attack.
“We’re really focusing on defense to get extra baskets and push the floor down. Overall, we’re high energy and having fun,” Hannas said. “It’s been a lot of fun to pass it on to Ruby and Eva and see them have so much success as sophomores.”
The Vikings defended the paint as the Trojans went into a half-court offense. With sophomore Aubrey Wagenbrenner and senior Layla Comisford in the starting lineup and junior Nia Moore coming off the bench, the Trojans’ clean looks around the basket have been limited. Ta.
“Last year we got off to a 3-0 start and I think we probably felt like we were a little bit above our capabilities,” Northridge coach Bill Mitchin said. “This year’s team was reminded that they only won seven games against a team that probably should have won 11 or 12 games. These kids are going to continue to grow together. These kids are having fun together, and when you’re having fun, the little gaffes like last season disappear.”
Northridge effectively shut down the field thanks to its relentless defensive pressure.
Moore’s pass to Travis in transition and Cermak’s steal and assist to Hanna on the other end gave the Vikings a 19-10 lead at halftime. Assists from Cermak to Travis to Hannas in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter pushed the lead to 27-12 after eight defensive minutes.
“Don’t get me wrong, we have some young kids that have played a lot of varsity basketball and are still inexperienced, but we have length and probably the most athletic players in my three years at Northridge. It’s a team,” Mitchin said. “We know that in order to be successful, we have to show that athleticism. We pressed a lot today and played a lot of trap defense to get into transition. That’s what we did this year in basketball. That’s how we win games. It’s a growing process, but I’m happy with how they came out shooting today.”
Travis emerged as an offensive lineman in the second half of his freshman season, picking up where he left off and racking up 23 points. Travis was dangerous in transition when finishing and drawing fouls, but he also made half-court drives and 3-pointers.
Cermak added five points and five assists and tied Moore and Comisford with seven rebounds each. Junior Maddie Na also had three RBIs.
“One of the things we’ve continued to stress to them is there’s not a game where someone doesn’t make a mistake,” said Mitchin, who leads Highland, which hosts the team in the program’s Coaches vs. Cancer game on Saturday. said.
“You’re not going to make every shot, so do you have the mental strength to overcome that one mistake and correct it when the next opportunity comes?” he added. Next play. ”
Senior Jaelyn Lowry then added three points in the final seconds, drawing loud cheers from the bench.
“It’s really exciting to see other girls come out and get their first few minutes on varsity and get some points like Jaelynn did tonight,” Hannaz said.
740-973-4541