On Tuesday, Nov. 25, girls’ varsity basketball took home a dominant win, 61-48, against University High School. The Giants wasted no time building up momentum right out of the gates, jumping to a 14-3 lead with help from key players like junior Hindi Copeland and sophomore Drew Schultz. Copeland credited sophomore Rachel Towns for the teams’ hot start.
“The moment when we really took control of the game was when [Towns] hit the first three of the game, it got all of us excited, and it brought us together,” Copeland said.
Copeland scored multiple times from inside the key after grabbing offensive rebounds, before energizing the bench with an and-one finish on a fast break.
Redwood continued to control the pace as Schultz attacked the lane for several strong finishes. University responded late in the second quarter with a full-court press that briefly disrupted the Giants’ flow, leading to a quick three that cut the margin to 16-9. But the Giants answered immediately with a quick layup from Copeland.
From there, Redwood closed the half strong, taking a 29-16 lead into the break. The Giants opened the second half with the same composure, trading baskets while steadily expanding their lead. Copeland remained efficient inside, ultimately finishing with 17 points while missing just one shot the entire game, a performance praised by Head Coach Zach Borello. He also highlighted the impact of junior Maddie Petersmeyer.
“[Petersmeyer] played really well tonight on both ends,” Borello said. “Her rotations were great, and her offense was great.”
As Redwood’s lead grew to 42-25 late in the third quarter, senior Kitty White took over, making multiple buckets and playing great defense. Borello pointed to stretches like this as evidence of the team’s potential, largely because of White.
“[White] can be your primary ball-handler, your primary scorer and then suddenly she’s posting up,” Borello said. “Sometimes I’m just a fan watching.”
With Borello’s team goal of protecting home court and taking zero home losses, Redwood’s pre-season demonstrated a group already playing with cohesion and unity. Borello is excited to start the regular season.
“It was nice to kind of see what all the pieces are going to look like,” Borello said. “This was a foundation game, and it was good to see who plays well with who.”
