Heritage Shows Improvement in Narrow Loss to Perris

Coach Jay Gomez talks to the Heritage High School players during a timeout in Tuesday's game.

By Sierra Trujillo

After coming back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game, the Heritage High School girls basketball team was defeated by the Panthers of Perris High in the final seconds, 51-49.

Despite the loss, Patriots head coach Jay Gomez believes that his team is on the right track.

“I’m proud of [the team] because earlier in the season they wouldn’t have fought back,” said Gomez, whose team is 5-11 this season. “They would have just laid down and took the beating. The fact that we’re fighting back means that we’re growing as a team.”

The Patriots were off to a slow start during Tuesday’s game, scoring only 16 points by halftime, and committing eight fouls. Instead of heading to the locker room for the break, however, Gomez had the team stay on the court and run drills.

“Although [the girls] have played, they don’t know the ins and outs of what they’re supposed to be looking for, especially offensively,” said Gomez. “We have difficulty scoring when teams zone us up, so game by game we’re getting better and better.”

The halftime drills seemed to work, as Heritage came out stronger in the second half, having more control of the ball and taking advantage of scoring opportunities. Although the Patriots trailed by 10 to start the final period, they had gained momentum and confidence.

“When our coaches were talking, we took in what they said better in the second half,” said senior Myasia Gray, one of the Patriots’ captains. “Instead of doing it our way, we paid attention and we played as a team.”

With under five minutes remaining in the game, the Patriots tied the game and then took a one-point lead. The score went back and forth between the teams and with 30 seconds to go, Heritage led by one after sophomore Ashlee Theus made a free throw. However, Panthers junior April McDaniel was able to get away and make a 3-point shot with just seconds remaining, and the Panthers took home the win.

While the scoreboard did show a loss for the Patriots, Gomez is more focused on the fact that he could see a real improvement in his team’s fundamentals compared to earlier in the season.

“We’re learning as we go,” said Gomez. “The whole point of this whole season is about learning and growing. Wins and losses right now are not something that I’m overly stressing on.”

Gray led the team with 16 points in Tuesday’s game. Gomez said that Gray’s performance will help the team score, and ultimately win games.

“If Myasia’s aggressive, it opens up, for the rest of her teammates, the outside shots,” said Gomez. “She has to be our scoring catalyst. We put everything on her… and we expect her to carry the load.”

The Patriots will look to continue improving their skills in practice before taking on Temescal Canyon High School on Thursday in their next league game.

“You need losses like this,” said Gomez. “I’m not that upset. I want to win, but before, [the team wasn’t] upset when we lost, because they were used to losing, so I’m trying to change that lifestyle.”