There wasn’t much time for Justin-Siena High School to think about what went wrong following its first loss of the Marin County Athletic League girls basketball season last week.

On top of that, there wasn’t any time for a practice to try and regroup and bounce back after a 51-46 loss to Marin Catholic-Kentfield.

That’s because the Braves, ranked in state and regional polls, had a game the very next day.

To their credit, the Braves responded with a win over Terra Linda-San Rafael, 67-36.

They followed it up with Tuesday night’s blowout of Novato, 76-36, as Vicky Deely had 21 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in limited minutes at Clark Gym. The Braves (21-2 overall, 11-1 MCAL) can clinch a tie for the league’s regular season title with wins over San Rafael Thursday on “Senior Night” and Redwood-Larkspur on Friday.

Jessica Futo had 21 points and six rebounds, helping spark Justin-Siena, which came into the week ranked No. 5 by the San Francisco Chronicle and No. 7 in the Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area Top 20. Deely had 17 points with two 3-point baskets as the Braves — who had their 12-game MCAL winning streak snapped by Marin Catholic — took a 41-13 lead at the half.

“We’re back on track,” said Futo. “We just had to bounce back and try to get back in the swing of things and not let that affect the rest of our season. We learned from it.

“We’re just continuing to climb to the top hopefully. We want to take one game at a time, not look past anything. Winning our next game is what we’re focusing on right now.”

Braves head coach Mike Boles substituted freely, emptying his bench early and looking on as starters and reserves performed very well. It was pleasing for Boles to see.

“I thought 12 kids tonight did an outstanding job of playing good, fundamental basketball,” he said. “I thought they were sharp and crisp for 32 minutes.”

Olivia Vera had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, Marissa Munoz had 12 points and four rebounds, Britney Hyatt had two assists and two steals, Courtney Pardini had five rebounds and four assists, Kyleigh McAhren had four points, three rebounds and two steals, Jenn Bettencourt had three points, Gianna Wright had four rebounds and two steals, Rachelle Whitehead had four points and three rebounds, and Natalie Straw had four points and two assists.

“I think it was a good game to get back on track and focused, to work on our game, our defense, our offenses, getting players playing time and just getting them out on the court,” said Deely, who came into the game averaging 22.4 points and 9.6 rebounds.

The senior said the loss to Marin Catholic was a wake-up call.

“At first, I was really upset,” Deely said. “But I think that in a way it was good for us, because we’re not overly confident going into games. We know what have to get done and what we want to accomplish.

“Even though we lost to Marin Catholic, we’re still the best team in league. And I think that we need to play like we’re the best team in the league.”

Boles said he wasn’t worried after the loss.

“It’s a very senior-laden basketball team, so there’s an understanding that that wasn’t the last game of the season,” the coach said. “We’ve had a great season to this point. There’s no way that that game was going to ruin the season. We’ve got a long road left ahead of us, and we’re looking forward to it.

“Our expectations are high, they still remain high. These kids are resilient. They bounced back immediately. We have great senior leadership and that’s so important. They’re very smart, intelligent kids. They know that that game wasn’t at the end of the year.”

Justin-Siena’s half-court trapping press was effective early, as the Braves move out to a 23-7 first-quarter lead. They were in front by 40 points, 63-23, after the third quarter.

A running clock was used for the fourth quarter. Taylor Holtemann had nine points, Nerissa Hansen had eight points and Amy Gill finished with seven for Novato (8-17 overall, 4-9 MCAL).

Last week Justin-Siena climbed to No. 1 in the state Division IV rankings by CalHiSports.com. The Braves were also listed No. 8 in the Northern California Overall Top 15 by Cal-Hi.

If the Braves win their last two league games, it’s likely that they will get a first-round bye in the MCAL playoffs, which start Feb. 12 and 13. Their first MCAL playoff game will probably be Feb. 14.

Also, wins late in the year should help Justin-Siena’s chances for a high seed in the CIF North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. Six of the teams in the Chronicle’s Top 20 are Division IV schools: St. Patrick/St. Vincent-Vallejo, Valley Christian, St. Mary’s-Berkeley, Moreau Catholic-Kentfield and Piedmont.