Picking up where they left off last year, the Healdsburg Greyhound girls basketball team is 6-0 just over two weeks into the season, despite having a small roster composed primarily of junior and sophomore talent.
The only senior is Hailey Webb, and while all the girls have been playing at the top of their game, it was Webb who led scoring in the most recent game, the Nov. 25 meeting with Fort Bragg. Her 21 points counted for a high percentage of the team’s winning total in the 55-32 final, and her 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 assists did their part, too.
Junior Ruby Leffew scored 13 points, giving the two a point total more than enough to overcome the Timberwolves. Aggressive defense smothered Fort Bragg, with junior Ashley Behrens having five forced turnovers.
The holiday weekend game followed a much more challenging match against Analy on Nov. 20, the fifth game in six days for the Greyhounds. “Analy showed up with great size—a couple of six-footers—and a lot of talent,” said coach Jim Lago.
Though Healdsburg jumped off to a 29-21 lead in the first half, the Sebastopol team got their act together and outscored Healdsburg 14-6 in the third quarter to take the lead. “But we never gave up and won by three points,” said Lago. The final score was 49-46.
Hailey has been the team’s leading scorer, also running up 21 points in the Clear Lake game (Nov. 17, final score 68-16) and 23 points against Lower Lake (Nov. 18, 52-27 final). But juniors Claire Berry and Ruby Leffew and sophomores Amelia Wickersham and Meher Dhiman have also scored into double digits during the six games so far.
“We are doing the best we can, and we have a never-quit attitude that can not be taught. It comes from the heart,” said Lado. “These girls are special.”
Thursday night this week, Nov. 30, the Greyhounds team meets a strong Marin County opponent in San Marin, followed by a two-week break until Dec. 16.
