Bulldogs 6-4 after 10 games

A 64-19 home win over Steele Canyon gave Ramona’s girls basketball team a 6-4 record after the Bulldogs’ first 10 games of the 2018-19 season.

“We’re having ups and downs this year, but good overall,” said Ramona head coach Stephon Rhone.

This is Rhone’s first season with the Ramona program and his first as a high school head coach. He was an assistant coach at San Pasqual during the 2017-18 season. Dave Davis, who agreed to fill the girls head coaching vacancy last year, is now a boys assistant coach for Ramona.

“I had an opportunity to become the head coach,” Rhone said. “I knew a few of the girls from club basketball, a few of the families.”

Rhone’s club coaching is with the California Bucket organization.

Ramona’s 2018-19 varsity roster consists of four seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and a freshman.

“With the talent that we have, we can give anybody on our schedule that we play a run for their money,” Rhone said.

The Bulldogs’ season began Nov. 16 with a 68-16 win at Orange Glen. Ramona had leads of 25-0 after the first quarter, 40-9 at halftime, and 60-9 after three periods.

“We won that one pretty handily,” Rhone said.

Ramona’s four seniors were among the Bulldogs’ five points leaders: Toni Dominguez and Elexis Espina each had 15 points, Payton White contributed 7 points, and Julia Plantz scored 6 points. Junior Michaela Burgos shot baskets totaling 14 points. Four other Ramona players also scored in that game.

Rhone noted that a win in the Bulldogs’ first game allows the players to trust the coaches’ system.

“It builds confidence in what we’re teaching,” he said.

Crawford traveled to Ramona for a Nov. 20 contest. The Bulldogs prevailed, 57-15, after building up a 47-6 halftime cushion. Plantz scored 12 points and junior Jessica Van Tol sank baskets worth 11 points.

Ramona’s first loss of the season was at Carlsbad on Nov. 23. The final score was 62-59.

The Lancers overcame deficits of 14-10 after the end of the first period, 28-25 when the halftime buzzer sounded, and 45-41 at the end of the third quarter. Carlsbad is one of the county’s top teams, but Rhone does not use the quality of the opponent as a reason for the Bulldogs’ loss.

“It’s never about the opponent. It’s about us,” he said. “When we play our basketball, we win. When we don’t, we make it tough on ourselves.”

The Bulldogs staged their own comeback Nov. 26 at San Diego High School. The Cavers had advantages of 16-8 after the first quarter and 26-16 at halftime, but Ramona narrowed the deficit to 38-35 by the end of the third period and a 17-9 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter produced a 50-47 Bulldogs victory.

The 54-38 loss Nov. 27 at Westview included a 17-9 Ramona lead after the first period, but the Wolverines had taken a 26-21 lead by the time the second quarter ended.

Ramona’s Nov. 29 home game against Del Norte was a 60-48 Nighthawks win. The Bulldogs had leads of 12-7 after the first quarter and 29-23 at halftime, but Del Norte outscored Ramona by a 24-7 margin in the third quarter.

In some cases the evaporation of a double-digit lead after the third quarter can be justified. Providing floor experience to substitutes allows them to learn from their mistakes in a game situation, and while a team with the lead focuses on ball control and running down the clock the team which is behind is more aggressive with shots. Those factors help explain how Ramona’s 64-48 advantage after the third quarter Nov. 30 at Lincoln was reduced in the game, which ended with a 79-75 score in the Bulldogs’ favor.

A Dec. 1 trip to Imperial resulted in a 62-52 Tigers victory. Ramona trailed by a 37-18 margin at halftime before outscoring the Tigers in both second-half periods.

The game at Imperial was the fifth in an six-day span for Ramona.

“The girls responded well,” Rhone said.

Injuries augmented the intensive schedule for those who were on the court.

“You’ve got to be committed, you’ve got to be connected, or it just doesn’t work,” Rhone said of five games in six days and six contests in nine days.

Ramona traveled to El Cajon Valley High School for a Dec. 4 matchup. The score was tied at 8-8 after one period, but Ramona leveraged leads of 24-14 at halftime and 40-22 after three periods into a 52-29 triumph.

The 64-19 victory over Steele Canyon included a 35-6 halftime lead.

“We’ve definitely taken more steps forward than back,” Rhone said.

Rhone’s goals for the season are to win the Valley League championship and prevail in at least one playoff game, and he considers those to be possible with the team he has.

“The box that the girls check every day that I talk about is effort and commitment,” he said.