Mesa Verde Basketball: Girls get off to historic start

*Note: To make local sports coverage possible, sports stories are now a premium article accessible only by The Sentinel’s paid subscribers. To subscribe today for just $4/mo., click here.

By Marcus D. Smith—
Mesa Verde Girls Varsity Basketball elevated their game another level on Tuesday.

For the first time in over a decade, the varsity girls program started the season, 2-0, winning back-to-back games to begin the season. In the first game of a double-header, the Lady Mavericks set the tone of the night with a 35-24 victory against Leroy Greene Academy.

Mesa Verde ran the entire night and were able to set the momentum from the beginning of tip-off. They were able to jump out to an 11-0 lead to start the game, thanks to junior guard Vanessa Flores, who scored all 11 of the team’s points during that run. She finished with 15 points.

“[G]etting moved to 2-0 is one of the best starts the girl’s program has had at least the last 10 years,” said Mesa Verde Girl’s Varsity Head Coach Mark Toscano. “So this game was big and the win was huge for us.”

Defensively, they were able to contain the Lady Lions in the first quarter, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Leroy Greene was held to just four points in that first quarter. The game was a battle back and forth, but Mesa Verde would never relinquish the lead throughout the remainder of the game.

It was a solid team effort all-around. The Lady Mavericks were able to flow through their offense with contributions from junior forward, Maleena Ridore, who scored six of the team’s eight fourth quarter points, and Kiylea Elliot who hit two timely three point field goals in the game.

Once the game settled in a bit, Mesa Verde would allow the chemistry of their returners to set the pace. From beginning to end the tempo of the game was set.

“I think it’s [the] chemistry all my girls have. I have eight girls on my squad. Six are returners from last year,” said Toscano. “I think that’s really going to lead us into having good momentum into this tournament. We’re going there to win it, we want to bring home a trophy for this program.”

Mesa Verde Girls Basketball also had scheduled games for Dec. 6 and 7 in the Western Sierra Tournament, located in Rocklin. Continue to check back with Citrus Heights Sentinel Sports for updates.

Sports Reporter Marcus D. Smith covers high school sports in Citrus Heights. Smith is a Sacramento-area native and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2017.