Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
By GERARDO RECINOS
Martinez Tribune
For about a quarter’s worth of play on Tuesday night it looked like the Bulldogs had solved the Concord High problem.
But the girls basketball team only solved the riddle for a quarter, as the Minutemen claimed the Diablo Athletic League title outright with a 54-40 win over Alhambra on Feb. 7.
In a way the Bulldog girls did what they needed to do by holding Concord to 54 points, rather than the 66 they scored last time the two teams met. But on that day the Bulldogs were nailing clutch shots after going down by a lot.
Tuesday night’s loss was about as cold as the Lady Dogs have gone from the field all season.
Alhambra’s defense did everything right, for the most part. They put a second defender on Ciara O’Kelley, who at 6-foot-2, towers over most of the players on either squad.
They rebounded better as a team, but still had trouble not letting O’Kelley sweep up everything in sight. The senior had 19 rebounds for the Minutemen, and wasn’t doing it all alone.
Senior added eight rebounds to go with 15 points on the night. However the three-ball that hurt Alhambra two weeks prior was not as deadly. Concord went 6-for-19 from the three-point range, compared to 10-for-21 in January.
The loss marked only the third time Alhambra has lost all season. Two have come at the hands of Concord.
