Patterson rolls on despite small roster

The 2014-15 version of Patterson’s girls basketball team looks a lot like last year’s squad that made a deep run into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.

The Tigers still get up and down the court at a break-neck pace and play tough interior defense.

The difference between this year’s squad and last year’s is depth. This year’s roster has just nine players, while last year’s team featured a rotation of 10 players and a roster of 16.

That lack of depth probably won’t catch up to the Tigers until the playoffs. For the time being, Patterson has more than enough, as was evident in a 69-36 victory over second-place Central Valley on Tuesday night.

“We had only eight players but (junior) Danielle Jenkins just came back from an injury,” said Patterson coach Elizabeth Tolleson, whose Tigers (18-3, 7-0 WAC) has won 33 consecutive league games. “We’ve had kind of a roller-coaster season to this point, and our goal right now is to just maintain and keep getting better, instead of up-down, up-down.”

Patterson got off to a quick start against the Hawks (11-7, 4-2), bolting to a 10-0 lead in the first 2 minutes, 47 seconds, of the contest. After Central Valley’s Alyssa Costa ended the run with a short jumper, Tiana Barron’s lay-in stretched the lead back to 10. At that point, Patterson’s Shealyn Craven took over. The senior guard, who had a game-high 19 points, hit a three-pointer – one of her four in the contest – to make it 15-2. As the Hawks tried to bring the ball upcourt, Craven stole the ball and raced in uncontested for a layup.

Following another Central Valley miss, Craven hit another bomb, making it 20-2 with a personal 8-0 run in the span of 29 seconds. The Hawks would eventually cut the lead to 13 points in the second quarter but could get no closer.

Ariyanna Cashen finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds and four assists for the Tigers. She doesn’t mind the added minutes that comes with Patterson’s limited numbers.

“We all know that we have a role to play and that we have to step up,” said Cashen. “I know I’m not going to get too many breaks during games.”

Last season, the Tigers reached the D-III semifinals where they lost to eventual state champion Modesto Christian. Cashen was more of a role player on last year’s team.

“This is what I was waiting for last year,” said Cashen. “I wanted to be more of a team leader.”

Lyndsey Alexander paced Central Valley with 11 points, while Adriana Haynes chipped in with 10.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Patterson rolls on despite small roster."