RON HARTMAN/CHRONICLE PHOTO Emme Whitson, right, scores two of her season-high 22 points.
Like a fine-running economy car taking a mountainous journey, the Creswell girls basketball team conserved its energy on Wednesday, Jan. 19, against Pleasant Hill, outlasting the Billies 57-41 in the conference opener for both teams.
“The majority of our girls had to quarantine because we had a player who we found out on Saturday tested positive, so we only had two practices before the game,” Creswell coach Tyler Hollingsworth said.
“We talked at halftime that we only had one game scheduled for the week, and if we can just find another gear, then we can go light and recover for a couple of days.”
The Bulldogs (5-6) found that gear, and they were even able to put it in cruise control for the last few moments, thanks to the 1-2 punch of Emme Whitson (22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 9 steals) and Samairah Quinones (21 points, 5 rebounds).
“Emme really did a good job,” Hollingsworth said. “Whether it was driving to the hoop, kicking it out, or making the assist, she made the right decision.”
The coach said that even though two players scored the lion’s share of the points, almost all of his players found ways to contribute against the Billies (4-7).
“Emma (Maness) took four charges, and Dakota (Carson) had five steals,” Hollingsworth said. “Karinna (Leonard) is a blue-collar worker who denies the ball and causes a lot of steals that don’t always show up in the scorebook. I think everybody who played did something positive to help us win.”
Mission accomplished.
