If there was ever a situation that necessitated the need to break out a new defense, then being down by seven points at Folsom gym so delirious that coach Steve Pezzola had to resort to hand signals to communicate with his players was probably it.
“They couldn’t hear me,” Pezzola said of his players. “The fans were rambunctious in a way that everybody could be proud of.”
After Folsom started the game on a seven-to-nothing run, Salesian unveiled a trapping defense Folsom hadn’t seen during the teams’ previous meeting in January. That stunned Folsom long enough to get Salesian back in the game, and the Pride eventually prevailed 76-70 in double-overtime on Wednesday night.
“The defense takes a lot of energy, and we don’t have a deep bench,” Pezzola said. “We put that defense in though, which does a bunch of traps and a bunch of reads for what their offense is going to do, and we started to turn them over.”
League player of the year Makiah Asidanya led the way with 27 points after Salesian’s offense settled in, Sofia Fidelus followed with 16 points, and Eryn Gardner scored 11 points. Folsom’s Charlotte Climenhage led the home team with 17 points.
It was Fidelus’ first game back after sustaining an injury against Pinole Valley in the TCAL-Rock championship game on Feb. 11, and she showed no signs of rust. Fidelus hit two three-pointers and scored eight points in overtime.
“It was great to have Sofia back,” Pezzola said.
Trailing 44-36 entering the fourth quarter, Salesian outscored Folsom 20-7 over the next few minutes to take a 56-51 lead. But Folsom returned with five points in the final moments of regulation to send the game to overtime.
After neither team could separate in the extra four-minute period, the two elite programs went to a second overtime. Three-pointers by Asidanya and Fidelus proved to be too much for Folsom. It didn’t hurt that Salesian went 22-28 from the free-throw line, and Asidanya went 15-18 on foul shots.
“And that was on the road, with people yelling at every free throw,” Pezzola added.
Pezzola said that Salesian’s bench was also a key factor in the victory, even if some of the players didn’t get on the court.
“They were cheering their guts out,” Pezzola said. “The chemistry on this team is above and beyond, and it really is a coach’s dream.”
The road doesn’t get any easier for the reigning CIF Division I state champions, who now have to play at No. 1-seeded Piedmont on Saturday. The 28-0 Highlanders beat Salesian 69-63 on MLK Day, so Pezzola knows firsthand what kind of challenge his team will face this weekend.
“They’re a really good team,” Pezzola said. “They’ve got a great defense.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com