CONCORD, Calif. – Benicia jumped out to an early lead and steadily built on it after that, finally blowing it open in the fourth as the Panthers downed Mt. Diablo, 68-45. The Panthers (5-1, 5-1 DVAL) used a balanced scoring attack and strong defense to set the tone and cruise to the victory. Peyton Holcomb led the way with 17 points, nine rebounds, five steals, and three assists, Nyla Priestly had 12 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals, and Taylor Rice added nine points and 12 rebounds. Three other players scored seven points apiece.
“The girls are finally starting to realize the kinds of pressure we can put on different teams,” Benicia coach Carlos Fernandez said. “It’s going to lead to easier transition, steals. We have the athletes and we have the depth. We didn’t get an off-season. It’s our sixth game where some teams are playing 10, 12 already.”
Mt. Diablo had a 10-4 run in the third that shaved the lead to 37-33 with two minutes to go in the third. But in the next 1:10, Benicia responded with several buckets sparked by defensive prowess and only expanded the advantage from there.
Yasmine Garrett had another fine game for Mt. Diablo (5-5, 3-3 DVAL) to no one’s surprise, as she leads the team in three categories. The junior guard tallied 16 points, seven boards, four assists, and three steals. Mariel Busine, another junior, contributed 10 points, and freshman Angie Bravo chipped in 10 points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Noelani Boyd controlled the glass in the second half with nine rebounds during that time.
Berean Christian sits atop the league with a 6-1 mark; Benicia lost to the Eagles by three in the first match up, and hosts them again on May 26.
The first time that Mt. Diablo and Benicia met this season, the Panthers won by three. Holcomb and Gabrielle McDonald combined for 33 points in that game, while Garrett had 17.
Fernandez is experiencing his first year as varsity coach after being the head of the junior varsity squad and acknowledges transitioning in the COVID year, while strange, is made easier by that fact.
“We coached all these girls since they were freshmen,” Fernandez said. “We were able to tweak our system this year to the strength of our team. They’re smart girls and we’re just trying to put them in the right position.”
