Braves chomp Champion
By Tom Angel
of The Valley Mirror

The Hamilton High girls varsity basketball team improved its record to 9-1 with a 61-53 victory over the visiting Champion Christian Mustangs Friday afternoon at the Marty Passaglia Invitational.

The Hamilton reserves logged significant playing time as the Braves stretched a 36-19 half-time lead into a 23 point lead in the third quarter.

Hamilton coach Sharon Story said, "The second team played well and it was a learning experience for them. I thought the whole team played together well; we worked together and stuck to our game plan."

This is Coach Story's first year as head coach, replacing Justin Combs, who moved out of state and took the Braves to the section championship game last year. She said, "I've been with the program for three years and I just want to continue the success Justin Combs worked so hard to achieve."

The Braves were led in scoring by senior Andrea Jones with 19 and junior Tessa Bekendam with 14. Champion Christian was led junior Carly Koslofsky with 17 points and junior Heidi Louber with 14 points. Hamilton finishes the tournament at home Saturday night at 6 p.m. vs. Colusa.

Hamilton City — On the braves’ home court, sophomore Jenna Price drives between Champion Christian Mustangs’ junior Cammille Fuller, left, and junior Kristen Smith for two of her three points. Valley Mirror photo by Tom Angel.