Scrappy but happy — Griz hand Badgers first loss

The basketball teams at Mariposa County High School are back on the court as winter sports have rolled out.

It may be early in the season but the Grizzlies girls varsity basketball team handed the Yosemite Badgers their first loss of the season on Nov. 24 at MCHS.

The final score was 47-39 and the Grizzlies sat at 2-0 after the win.

“Tonight went really good for us,” said coach Joe Lewis.

“We improved on defense and overall I think the team did a great job of figuring out how to handle the ups and downs.”

The Grizzlies varsity team roster this season consists of Bailey Costa, Hailey Watson, Tylie Allison, Kylee Hutchings, Mia Hansen, Celina Heard, Demi Camorlinga, Haley Baars, Chloe King, Hunter Arnold, Livie Twiss and Abby Beery.

The rivalry is very much alive between the Grizzlies and the Badgers and both teams were very physical throughout the game.

Beery put MCHS on the scoreboard first with a layup. She was quickly fouled and made one of two shots from the free throw line.

Hansen put up four more points bringing the score to 7-0.

Kaydynn Ellis drew a foul for the Badgers and made the free throw to get Yosemite on the board at 7-1.

Costa scored followed by a three-pointer from Baars.

The score was 17-8 for the Grizzlies at the end of the first quarter.

King scored two to open scoring in the second quarter but Yosemite responded which brought them within two points at 19-17.

Ellis sunk a three-point shot right before the buzzer to give the Badgers their first lead of the game.

The score was 24-23 for Yosemite at halftime.

While the Grizzlies scored 12 during the third quarter, they held the Badgers to only putting up six.

Things became a little heated as both teams created multiple turnovers as they battled for the ball.

The score was 35-30 in favor of MCHS at the end of the third.

Baars made one of two free throws followed by a big three-pointer from Hutchings to increase the lead to 39-32 for the Grizzlies.

The Badgers never let off, but it wasn’t enough and the Grizzlies took the win 47-39.

“Haley Baars came out and played excellent defense on their best ball handler and got them out of rhythm which was really beneficial to us winning the game,” Lewis said.

“Mia Hansen was able to out rebound a really tall player and get her in foul trouble, which ended up fouling her out of the game.”

Hutchings came up clutch and hit three three’s to get the Grizzlies their lead.

“We’re younger, we’re faster and we have five sophomores who are playing with us this year,” explained Lewis.

“They’re hard workers who are invested and all in.”

The team has four seniors this year which include Watson, Heard, Hansen and Camorlinga.

“We have great leaders in our seniors,” Lewis said.

“They’re locked in and leading the right way.”

The JV squad also won their game against Yosemite with a final score of 44-14 before the start of the varsity game.

Coached by Tammi Richards, the JV team sat at 2-0 after the win over the Badgers.

“We’re dominating right now,” said Richards.

The JV roster this season includes Kenzie Allison, Dakota Costa, Gia Camorlinga, Kylie Rose Williams, Bella Martinez, Sky Camorlinga, Zoey Hofstee and Vera Smerber.

“We’re focusing on running some plays and looking for our post players,” continued Richards.

“They’re doing a great job and we’re off to a really great start.”

Next up, the teams will travel to Ripon Christian on Dec. 4 to take on the Knights.

JV will play at 5:30 p.m. followed by varsity at 7 p.m.