Standout not pleased with Healdsburg girls' opening win

Healdsburg High's girls romped to victory in the opening round of the the 62nd Redwood Invitational Basketball Tournament, but leading scorer Cassidy Jourdan was far from pleased with the effort.

"We didn't play with any energy," the junior said after scoring 14 points in a 42-13 victory over Piner on Wednesday night. "We started out fast, but then we played down to their level."

Healdsburg (5-2) will play Ukiah Friday at 8:30 p.m. in the tournament semifinals.

The Greyhounds jumped to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. Jourdan felt her team's effort left much to be desired coming off a big win over rival Windsor earlier in the week.

"We didn't have anywhere near the intensity that we did against Windsor," Jourdan said. "This wasn't anywhere near the excitement level as we felt against Windsor."

Piner couldn't handle Healdsburg on either end of the court, so Jourdan left the blowout feeling the Greyhounds need to pick up the pace before they take on Ukiah.

"We could've played with more aggression," Jourdan said. "It was not a good game for us. I definitely feel that we're capable of playing much better."

Piner took a timeout after the Healdsburg defense pressured the visitors into a series of mistakes after the opening tip

The break in the action didn't help, though, as the Greyhounds quickly boosted the lead to 12-0 on a steal and hoop.

Piner didn't score until 3 minutes, 26 seconds were left in the opening period.

The Greyhounds pulled away, however, leading 18-3 early in the second period and 26-5 at halftime.

Junior Taylor Steadman scored six points for Healdsburg. Shannon Keif, a senior, added six more. Junior Kim McKernan had four points.

Ukiah defeated Middletown to advance to the semifinals.

The winner of Friday's semifinal will advance to the REIBT championship game Saturday at 6 p.m. The loser will play for third place Saturday at 3 p.m. at Healdsburgh High's gym.