Natomas Girls, Inderkum Boys Fall In Tourney Finals

BY TREVOR HORN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Lady Nighthawks basketball fell to Granite Bay 54-38 for the third-place game at the Natomas Varsity Tournament today, Dec. 22 despite cutting a 14-point first half deficit in half late in the game.

Winless this season going into the holiday break (0-9), Natomas did get a nice addition with  sophomore Hayley Polk coming up from the junior varsity team to help with depth on Saturday. Polk helped relieve a little pressure the other six players available, especially with senior center Sierra Maun limited with an ACL injury.

“It was nice to see her play,” Natomas head coach Stuart Welch said of Polk. “She gives us another offensive-minded player.”

Polk finished with nine points, including five straight points in the fourth for Natomas.

But the effort was not enough as the bench-depleted Nighthawks were unable to get much momentum going against the Grizzlies.
Three Nighthawks played all 32 minutes of the game.

“It’s the same story with costly turnovers at critical points in the game,” Welch said.

The 16-point margin of defeat is the second-lowest for Natomas this season, but the game was much closer with less than four minutes to play, which is a bright note for Welch in an otherwise tough season for his team to date.

“That’s one I thought we could have had,” Welch said. “It was nice to be in it late. But it’s still disappointing.”

Halle Hamre led the Nighthawks with 14 points and Ashley Davis chipped in with five points. Maun scored six points, all in the second half. Maun sat most of the first half after aggravating her right knee.
 
Natomas hosts Foothill on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m.

Tigers fall in Reno championship 

The Inderkum boys basketball team snapped a five-game winning streak Saturday after falling to Galena High, 75-62, in the Nugget Rail City Classic championship game in Reno. Nef Torres and Terrence White were named all-tournament for the Tigers.

PHOTO COURTESY ANGELICA TORRES/THE NATOMAS BUZZ