Fourth-ranked Foothill doesn’t let injury, illness end winning streak

With his two best players either injured or ill Thursday, Foothill girls basketball coach Eric Kruger didn’t exactly have his ideal starting lineup on the floor.

He picked the right combination, though.

Down to eight players because of injury and with leading scorer Taylor Turney limited by an ear infection, the fourth-ranked Falcons never trailed en route to a 62-51 victory over visiting Coronado.

Foothill (12-7, 4-0 Southeast League) won its sixth straight, a streak that began with a win over No. 2 Centennial on Jan. 5.

“We’ve had some pretty interesting things happen to our team this year,” Kruger said. “But our freshmen and our sophomores, they do a good job of filling in and are very effective in spots.”

Turney (13.8 points per game) didn’t start, and second-leading scorer Gabby Doxtator (11.3 ppg) is expected to miss the remainder of the season because of a stress fracture.

But the Falcons didn’t lack for offense.

Trinity Betoney scored six points in the first five minutes to give the Falcons a lead they never relinquished.

Turney, who played with cotton stuffed in her right ear, had 19 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes. She scored 12 points in the second half to help the Falcons expand a 30-25 halftime lead.

Turney played all but 1:50 of the second half. An hour before the game, Kruger didn’t expect the junior to play.

“Taylor is just a competitor,” he said.

Katey Roquemore scored 15 and Mikayla Yeakel 10 for the Falcons, who dictated the pace and neutralized Coronado post players Sam Green and Kayla Watterson. Green and Watterson, who combine to average 20.6 points, managed a total of 10 on a combined 4-for-11 shooting.

“The kids did a good job in practice of figuring out what they were going to do,” Kruger said. “We adjusted well against their man offense. Kylie Vint and Rae Burrell caused a lot of problems for them inside. We did key on Green, and I think that made a big difference.”

Dajah Washington led the ninth-ranked Cougars (13-8, 2-2) with 21 points.

“We just emphasize coming into every single game with the goal of going 1-0,” Kruger said. “If we can do that every night, (playoff) seedings will take care of themselves. For such a young team, these kids respond very well to coaching. They understand the importance of preparation.”

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-5230.