YC pads lead in TCC

Withstanding a fourth-quarter rally Wednesday night, the Yuba City High girls basketball team held off Natomas, 50-45, in a key Tri-County Conference contest in Honker Gym.

With the win, the Honkers (11-8, 7-0) opened a two-game lead on the Nighthawks (7-12, 5-2) and at least three on everyone else in the TCC.

"This was their season," Yuba City coach John Cassidy said of the Nighthawks, who were looking to pull into a first-place tie with the Honkers.

"Now we have to hope someone else beats them," Natomas coach Coulter Mann said.

Mann pointed out Yuba City beat the Nighthawks by 11 points on their home court earlier in the season and Natomas was looking for some revenge.

"Unfortunately, tonight we gave them too much room," Mann continued. "We got down by too much."

After a close first half that saw Yuba City grab a four-point lead at intermission, 25-21, the Honkers opened the second half with 12 unanswered points for a 37-21 advantage.

Nearly half the period was gone before the Nighthawks finally scored. Eventually, Natomas settled for a 12-point deficit, 43-31, entering the fourth quarter.

That lead quickly evaporated as the Honkers deliberately slowed the pace of the game.

"We wanted to pull them out of their zone (defense)," Cassidy said. "But maybe we slowed it down a little too much."

After hitting a free throw to open the fourth period, the Honkers did not score again until Amarpreet Everest drove the lane with 2:10 remaining. That gave the Honkers a little breathing room, as Natomas had closed to within two, 44-42, with 2:29 remaining.

Natomas made it a three-point game with 1:56 remaining when Desireé Gipson sank a free throw. Yuba City's Brie Richins and Natomas' Desirey Morris traded buckets on drives in the lane to keep the gap at three with 1:32 left.

Symren Takher then came up two big plays at opposite ends of the court. She grabbed a defensive rebound and then she scored inside the lane with 23 seconds remaining to help the Honkers ice the win.

"Symren had a monster game," Cassidy said. "And she's coming off a severely sprained ankle. She's the unsung leader on the team. She doesn't talk much. She just lets her play do her talking."

Takher posted a double-double, scoring a game-high 17 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

"I just went to the open spot," Takher said of her offensive outburst.

Everest also hit double figures, scoring 11 points. She also had six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Cassidy said he asked just one thing of his players.

"I told them to take care of the basketball," he said, noting Natomas forced Pioneer to turn the ball over 34 times in a game last week. "I thought we took care of the basketball tonight."

Even though the Nighthawks rallied late in the game, Takher added "I never felt we were going to lose."

Now, with its two-game lead, Yuba City can relax a little.

"Natomas still has to play Pioneer twice more, Inderkum twice, and us once more," Cassidy said. "Pioneer, Inderkum and Natomas are going to be beating each other up."