Defensive effort results in another Paloma victory, 55-32

Paloma Valley guard Mya Pierfax drives to the basket during Thursday night's game. The Wildcats won the game, 55-32. Staff photos by Doug Spoon

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Business as usual.

That was the case Thursday night, as the girls basketball team at Paloma Valley High School used a smothering defensive effort and the scoring duo of Mya Pierfax and Sydney Woodley to defeat Mission Prep, 55-32, in the second round of the CIF State playoffs.

Pierfax led all scorers with 22 points to go along with 9 rebounds. The other half of the Wildcats’ 1-2 scoring punch, Woodley, finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals. And defensively, the Wildcats shut down the visiting Royals’ 3-point shooting and held point guard Kyra Harris to 11 points.

As a result, the Wildcats (32-3) extended their finest season ever into the Division III Southern Regional semifinals. Perhaps their biggest challenge of the season will take place after a four-hour bus ride to Santa Maria Saturday night to face top-seeded Righetti (24-4). The Warriors beat Mt. Miguel 68-63 in overtime Thursday night.

If the fourth-seeded Wildcats win that game, they will advance to the regional finals Tuesday to play for a trip to Sacramento March 13 and the championship game.

“I thought we defended really well in the second half, except for a couple lapses,” coach Matt Dale said. “They’re a drive and kick team. We wanted to take away the 3s first and make the point guard score inside. And when you put good defenders like Sydney and Leslie [Giles] on her all night, it’s hard to get penetration.

“Trinitee [Bradley] also did a good job on her. We kind of left her on an island and said, “guard this girl.” Then the plan was to stay home on those wings and not let them get great looks.”

It took a few minutes before the Wildcats got into a rhythm. The Royals (19-13) built an 8-2 lead at the outset on 3-pointers by JoJo Zaragoza and Tabitha Vander Horst and a basket by Tracy Song before the Wildcats woke up. Pierfax sank a 3-pointer, then two free throws the next time down the court. Mission Prep responded to extend the lead back to 10-7, but the tide turned again.

Pierfax forced a backcourt call on a Royals ballhandler, then went down and drove to the basket. A Royals turnover resulted in a drive by Woodley for an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats never trailed again.

“I was super upset the first five minutes,” Dale said. “I thought we did a terrible job running the offense. We didn’t really do anything. Then after the 8-2 start, we really just sat down and guarded and we started to chip away.

“We hit some shots, but the defensive effort was what I really liked. When we hold a team to 32 points, we’re going to win.”

After getting into the flow of the game late in the first quarter, the Wildcats really turned on the heat in the second period. They allowed the Royals only three points. Meanwhile, Pierfax and Woodley provided all the offense the team needed. When Pierfax hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, the Wildcats took a 28-13 halftime lead.

Trinitee Bradley drives with the ball against Mission Prep defender Kyra Harris Thursday night.

The Royals had trouble getting good looks at the basket throughout most of the game and Harris seemed especially frustrated trying to move inside.

“I think she was,” Dale said. “That’s what our job is. Our No. 1 job on defense is to try and make them do something they’d rather not do.”

As usual, Dale was complimentary of the job done by Pierfax and Woodley.

“Sydney is everywhere with her hands. She’s really quick,” Dale said. “And the other girls are opportunistic. They see our defense force a player to do something ill-advised, and they’re going to take advantage of it.

“Mya was really good again. When she’s confident, she’s really tough. She took a lot of shots, but I want her playing like that. I want her playing confident and as aggressive as possible within the framework of what we do.”

The Wildcats were in such control in the fourth quarter that Dale put sophomore Angeline Valdivia into the game for the final minute. Valdivia, who was brought up from the JV team for the playoffs, got the ball on a break to the basket and scored a layup for the final points of the game, to the delight of the home crowd.

It was the perfect exclamation point to another big victory. Now the challenge lies on the road on Saturday – the Wildcats’ first road game in the last five outings.

Had Righetti lost to Mt. Miguel Thursday night, the Wildcats would’ve hosted Mt. Miguel in the next round. But Righetti rallied in the final minutes up north to send the game to overtime and win.

“You know what? I don’t really care,” Dale said. “It’s nice to play at home, but we’re ready to play wherever.”

Wildcats forward Isabella Villegas gets ready to go up for two against Mission Prep.

Sydney Woodley puts up a shot over Mission Prep defender Tracy Song in Thursday night's game.