By Caleb Knudsen
The Healdsburg High girls basketball team entered 2024 with a 14-2 record, but were immediately faced with a challenge as they met a much-improved Elsie Allen team (13-1) in Santa Rosa on Friday, Jan. 5.
It didn’t take long, however, for the current North Coast Redwood league champions to assert their dominance. The Greyhounds raced off to a 15-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back en route to a convincing 54-25 win.
Defense carried the day, as the Lobos managed only 8 points in their highest-scoring quarter, the fourth, while the Greyhounds scored into double-digits in every frame. Leading the pack was co-captain Allie Espinoza with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals in 24 minutes of play.
Hailey Webb sank three of her six three-point attempts and scored a total of 11, and Ruby Leffew’s shots added 9 points to the final.
All the girls on the roster got a chance to play, but ironically coach Jim Lago gave a special shout-out to junior Macie Parmeter who had zero points in 10 minutes on the court.
“A stand-out player for Healdsburg was Macie Parmeter, who was on fire!” he said. “She impressed us all with her high energy and great decision making on the court. She boasted a solid performance in her first league game of the season.”
Tuesday night this week, the Greyhound girls defeated the Santa Rosa Panthers 71-40 in Healdsburg. Next up is St. Vincent on Thursday, Jan. 11. Only league games remain on the schedule, most on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a 7:30 tip-off.
Boys Schedule
The Greyhound boys (3-10) start their 2024 season on Wednesday night this week against St. Vincent (16-1) at HHS (results too late for press time), followed by Friday and Wednesday league games for the rest of the month. The one exception is a Monday, Jan. 15, non-league game against San Francisco’s Urban High, an independent co-ed school in Haight-Ashbury.
