GIRLS BASKETBALL: Leigh Stays Perfect at Home

Leigh 66,  Branham 56

 The Star: Senior Lauren Holt snatched a double-double with her 13 points and 10-plus rebounds in the win. The strong showing became the catalyst for Leigh’s fast break scoring against Branham.

 The Turning Point: Branham cut the lead to single digits trailing 47-40 with 7:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Leigh answered back with eight fast break points to pad its lead and kill any hope of a Branham comeback.

 The Quote: “Lauren (Holt), that’s what hurt us,” said Branham’s coach Sam Hernandez. “They had 17 offensive rebounds. It’s tough to come back in the second half when you lose 17 boards and give away second chance points.”

 What’s Next: Leigh puts their undefeated record at home on the line with a first place showdown against Pioneer next up on the docket Tuesday night at Leigh High.

 Bottom Line:  The Longhorns have won six straight home games and will host an exciting grudge rematch against the Mt. Hamilton League Santa Teresa divisions first place team, Pioneer High, on Tuesday night.

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 The theme for the Leigh High girls basketball teams game plan was simple: rebound, rebound and rebound.

Leigh won the battle on the glass at both ends to cruise to a 66-56 win over Branham High Friday night.

 Leigh’s up-tempo offense and well-disciplined boxing out was no match for Branham as they tried to play catch up the entire game. 

The Longhorns are now 18-4 overall and 11-1 in the Santa Teresa Division. As for Branham, they fall to 10-9 overall and 5-6 in league.

 Senior Lauren Holt snatched a double-double with her 13 points and 10-plus rebounds. The strong showing became the catalyst for Leigh’s fast break and second chance points against Branham.

 “Lauren (Holt), that’s what hurt us,” said Branham’s coach Sam Hernandez. “They had 17 offensive rebounds. It’s tough to come back in the second half when you lose 17 boards and give away second chance points.”

 Leigh closed the first half with a comfortable lead at 37-24.

 Branham looked sharp in the third quarter as they held Leigh to 10 points and contained Holt on the block.

The Bruins trimmed the lead to 47-40 going into the fourth, but the Longhorns answered back with eight unanswered fast break points to pad its lead and kill any hopes of a Branham Bruins comeback .

“We got some critical stops in the end and had some good fast breaks,” said Leigh’s coach Pam Zielazowski said. “That brought us back to what we were doing. We started playing good defense and our fast breaks took care of the rest.”

 Leigh puts their undefeated record at home at stake with a chance to even up with first place  Pioneer  on Tuesday (2/8).

 “It’s a big game for us,” said Lauren Holt. “We’ve been working all season for that game. We want to come out and win, that’s it!”

 The Longhorns have won six straight home games.