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Girls Basketball: Dublin Can't Solve Dougherty Valley, Still Advances to Nor Cals

The Gaels will travel for its first round Nor Cal contest next week when the seeds are announced on Sunday.

No. 1 Dougherty Valley 54, No. 5 Dublin 41

The Star: Dublin's Cathrine Kruschke, who's done it all year long for the Gaels, had 14 points in the loss.

The Turning Point: Dougherty Valley used a 12-0 run to end the first half to give the Wildcats a 35-14 cushion, a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

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The Quote: “Even though we won both games the first two times around, it's tough to win three straight, and we knew they would come out fighting tonight." -Dougherty Valley coach Doug Vanderhorst.

Who's Next? Dublin advances to the California Interscholastic Federation Nor Cal playoffs next week. Seedings and matchups will be announced on Sunday.

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The Bottom Line: Though outscoring Dougherty Valley in the second half, the Gaels dug themselves too big of a hole early, and couldn't quite get within striking distance down the stretch.

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The girls basketball team was hoping for a little lady luck on its side Wednesday when it traveled to top-seeded Dougherty Valley in the North Coast Section semifinals.

The Gaels fell to the Wildcats both times in league play, and were hoping the third time would be the charm this time around.

Unfortunately for Dublin, it was the same old story.

Host Dougherty Valley used a strong first half to beat Dublin 54-41, advancing to the NCS finals for the second consecutive season. The Wildcats will host No. 2 Clayton Valley on Friday at 7 p.m.

Dougherty Valley's Caroline Hughes poured in 19 points, while teammate Rayven Brooks added 16 points in the win. The dynamic duo have complimented each others game all season long.

"Offensively, we did what we've done all year," Hughes said. "We run the break and we swing the ball. And we take advantage when we can."

The Wildcats started the game on a 13-1 run, 10 of the points coming from Hughes.

Dublin's Cathrine Kruschke, who led the Gaels with 14 points, hit a three with 2 minutes, 12 seconds left in the second quarter to cut the Dublin deficit to 23-14. From that point, Dougherty Valley showed why it's the top seeded team.

The Wildcats would go on a 12-0 run to close out the first half, complimented by Brooks and Hughes.

"Even though we won both games the first two times around, it's tough to win three straight, and we knew they would come out fighting tonight," Dougherty Valley coach Doug Vanderhorst said.

Dublin outscored the Wildcats in the second half, but the hole was too deep to get out of.

"Coach told us he was proud of us, that we played hard, and proud that we never gave up," Kruschke said. "We figured the third time would be the charm and that we had a chance to come in here and compete."

The Gaels, though falling in the semifinals, still advance to the California Interscholastic Federation Nor Cal playoffs next week.

"We are looking forward to playing in Nor Cals and giving it another shot," Kruschke said."

Vanderhorst is proud the Wildcats are playing in the finals, a goal which was set at the beginning of the year, but knows there is still more to improve on.

"I thought our ball movement wasn't very crisp, most of our points came in transition," Vanderhorst said. "We haven't really had a team play man-to-man defense on us for a month, and they did it well tonight. Dublin is a good team. They've got a good post player and a good point guard. They have the pieces to win."

 

No. 1 Dougherty Valley 54, No. 5 Dublin 41 1 2 3 4 F

Dub

3 11 12 15 41 DV 13 22 10 9 54 Individuals — (fg ftm-fta tp) Dub Irwin 2 3-4 8, Martinez 3 0-0 7, Jose 1 0-0 2, P. Kaya 0 2-4 2, Kruschke 4 5-7 14, Merz 4 0-1 8. Totals 14 10-16 41. DV Moranado 0 2-2 2, Hori 0 1-2 1, Taylor 1 0-0 2, Gaines 2 1-2 5, T. Brooks 1 5-6 7, Hughes 7 3-3 19, R. Brooks 8 0-0 16, Pecht 0 2-4 2, Jenkins 0 0-2 0. Totals 19 14-21 54. 3-point goals: Dublin 3 (Irwin, Martinez, Kruschke). Dougherty Valley 2 (Hughes 2). Records: Dublin 15-12, Dougherty Valley 26-2. NCS semifinals, girls basketball, 3/2/2011 Follow Patch Sports East Bay on Twitter

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