Foothill downs Durango at Gator Winter Classic

Foothill girls basketball coach Laura Allen had a simple explanation for her team’s slow start.

It was all her fault.

“We’re not typically a pressing team, but I tried to tell them, ‘Hey, let’s see what we can do in a press.’ And it’s just not our style,” Allen said. “That might have thrown us off a little, because I asked my kids to do something that we’re not really used to doing.”

The Falcons backed off their full-court press late in the first quarter Tuesday and held Durango to two field goals the rest of the way in a 58-20 victory during pool play in the Gator Winter Classic at Green Valley.

Trinity Betoney led Foothill (7-4) with 19 points and five rebounds despite resting the entire fourth quarter.

Foothill forced 31 turnovers and held the Trailblazers to 4-for-28 shooting from the field. Durango went 12:50 without a field goal, including the entire third quarter.

“I really like our team in the halfcourt,” Allen said. “I know it’s not typical. I know everybody wants to be a pressing team and that’s the style of play a lot these days. But with our size, we’re not a pressing team, and that’s OK. I like the identity that we have of our team. We don’t have to be anybody else.”

Durango (3-8) led 9-7 less than four minutes into the first quarter, but the Falcons responded with a 17-0 run and owned a 27-14 lead at halftime.

Foothill then opened the second half by scoring eight straight points off four turnovers as Betoney had three of her seven steals. The Falcons outscored Durango 21-3 in the third quarter to pull away.

“I thought this was a team we could put pressure on and make them feel uncomfortable and we could get something easy, maybe,” Allen said. “We got a couple of (steals) and got some fast breaks, which was nice. It helps us when we have a variety of people scoring and playing defense like that.”

Analiyah Matthews led the Trailblazers with seven points and six rebounds.

Keilani Brown had 11 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Crystal Davis grabbed eight rebounds for Foothill.

“Once we got rolling, we started figuring out where the passes were,” Allen said. “Sometimes when we force things too early, too fast, it doesn’t work out. When we’re patient and take our time, we’re a much better team.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.