Pierfax named CIF Player of Year; Dale named Coach of Year

Paloma Valley High junior guard Mya Pierfax was named CIF Division 4AA Player of the Year. File photo

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Key members of one of the most successful high school teams in Menifee history were rewarded for their accomplishments through All-CIF selections announced this week.

Junior guard Mya Pierfax of the Paloma Valley High girls basketball team was honored as CIF Division 4AA Player of the Year. In addition, Wildcats junior forward Sydney Woodley was named to the ALL-CIF first team and coach Matt Dale was named Division 4AA Coach of the Year. Junior forward Trinitee Bradley was named to the All-CIF second team.

"In general, the Coach of the Year usually goes de facto to the coach of the winning team," said Dale (right), whose Wildcats won the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA championship and advanced all the way to the CIF State championship game, which was cancelled because of COVID-19.

"I don't really care about the personal recognition," Dale added. "What it signifies is what the team accomplished."

The Wildcats became only the third Paloma Valley team ever to win a CIF-SS title, defeating Ontario Christian 64-47 on Feb. 29. They went on to defeat Lincoln High of San Diego, Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo, Righetti High of Santa Maria, and Peninsula High in the state tournament, finishing with an overall record of 34-3.

Pierfax averaged 17 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists this season. She was named Most Valuable Player of the Sunbelt League. During the team's nine-game playoff run, she averaged 21 points per game, including 37 in the CIF Southern Section championship game.

"The most impressive things to say about Mya are the things others have said about her," Dale said. "Those who have seen her play the last two or three years said they felt she was a different player this year. That's great praise.

"Mya wanted the big moments this year. You could see it. I think out of all the players, she was the real believer in the group."

Woodley (left) averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals per game this season. She was consistently asked to guard the opponents' best player. In the Wildcats' nine-game playoff run, she averaged 19.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. In a state playoff game against Lincoln High when Pierfax's playing time was limited due to foul trouble, Woodney had 35 points, 20 rebounds and 6 steals.

"Sydney made a ton of big plays for us," Dale said. "She really came through in a bunch of pressure situations. Sometimes when we were struggling to score, she would get that offensive rebound, do whatever was needed to turn it around."

Bradley (right) averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.

"Trinitee just sort of woke up at the end of the year," Dale said. "She started the season great, then hit kind of a lull in mid-season. The confidence she ended the year with is something that she can build on for next year."

The Wildcats return all but two players for next season, which gives Dale even more optimism about his team.

"I watched our last nine games over again the last two weeks," Dale said. "What I saw was that we could be better. There's so much room for growth."