Tribute to a girls basketball season we will long remember

One of the highlights of the Wildcats' season was winning their first CIF Southern Section championship Feb. 29.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

For the record, this is not the season-ending tribute we had planned to write for the Paloma Valley High School girls basketball team.

The hope was that Menifee 24/7 would be reporting on the Wildcats’ victory over St. Mary’s today to win the CIF State Division III championship. Unfortunately, the team never got that chance. Thursday morning, CIF State officials announced the cancellation of all championship games, citing concerns about the coronavirus.

There would not be co-champions, they said. The championships in all divisions would be “vacated.” But once you get past the shock and disappointment and look at all the Wildcats have done this season, you can’t help but consider them champions.

Paloma Valley finishes the season with a 34-3 overall record. The Wildcats won their last 19 games; the last time they lost was more than two months ago. They won the program’s first CIF Southern Section championship, then 10 days later, the CIF State Southern Region championship.

Two days ago, in planning for what was supposed to be a preview of the state championship game, we talked to every player on the team as well as coach Matt Dale (left). Although parts of those conversations are no longer relative, the players’ statements about personal highlights, pride in their efforts and especially team unity deserve to be heard.

So here’s our tribute to the 2019-20 Paloma Valley Wildcats – champions for a lifetime.

Isabella Villegas, 5-8 senior forward

A four-year varsity player, Villegas epitomizes the growth of a program that had records of 9-17 and 6-20 her first two years. An inspirational team leader, she averaged 5 points and 6 rebounds per game, but her contributions were much more than that.

“Izzie is a complete intangible player,” Dale said. “She’s not going to fill up any stat sheet, yet we are way better when she’s on the floor. She just sort of solidifies things. She’s very unselfish. She has a real good sense of what we’re doing. She probably understands what we’re trying to do as much as anyone.”

Now having played her final high school game, Villegas deflects any credit away from herself and praises the teamwork aspect for the Wildcats’ success.

“I know we’re so good together … and I’m not coming back. It’s sad,” she said. “The chemistry is what makes this team. We’re all really good friends outside of basketball, too. We all have that connection between each other.”

Leslie Giles, 5-foot senior guard

The only other senior and four-year varsity player on the team, Giles is the ultimate role player, Dale said. Although not a starter for most of the season, Giles is an adept ballhandler and a tough defender.

“Leslie is probably every casual fan’s favorite player,” Dale said. “She just plays crazy hard. She should get zero rebounds with how tall she is, but she’s in on every loose ball, every rebound. She’s one of the easiest players to coach because she accepts whatever role she’s given.”

Giles said she takes special pride in her defensive efforts on the court.

“I think my strength is defensive specialist,” she said. “I’m usually on the hardest girl to guard when Sydney [Woodley] is not in.”

Giles said the explanation for the team’s success is simple.

“The team dynamic, and we have a lot of talented girls,” she said. “It all just came together.”

Mya Pierfax, 5-9 junior guard

Pierfax, who transferred to Paloma Valley from Heritage last year, always seems to be everywhere on the court. She handles the ball a lot, and she just keeps working away until she gets the job done, Dale said. Pierfax led the team in scoring at 17 points per game this season.

“There’s a John Wooden quote that says ‘A positive doer makes mistakes,' ’’ Dale said. “Mya makes mistakes, but only because she’s a doer. She’s not afraid of making mistakes out there because she’s really confident.

“Mya has grown tremendously. I don’t think she necessarily thinks of herself as a natural point guard, but we’ve put her in that situation. Our team feeds off her as much as anyone. They look to her to much the big plays in big situations.”

Pierfax acknowledged her improvement over the course of the season.

“Over the year, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better with my mid-range jumper,” Pierfax said. “I definitely have a better IQ now on the court. And I like driving to the hoop. If I see a chance to drive, I’m at least going to draw a foul.

“Our heart was in it from the beginning. We just stayed true to ourselves and who we wanted to be.”

Sydney Woodley, 5-10 junior forward

Woodley made a name for herself in the playoffs with strong defensive efforts against the opposition’s top scorer. But her overall presence, especially under the basket, was impressive as well. She averaged 16 points and led the team with 11 rebounds per game.

“Sydney is incredibly talented,” Dale said. “She might be the most gifted player I’ve ever coached. She can really do everything.

“She takes the burden on of guarding the other team’s best player pretty much every game, and she still finds the energy to chip in and have big games offensively. She almost always seems to have a big bucket for us.”

Woodley said she worked hard on developing a new attitude of aggressiveness on the court this year.

“Defense is like the main way to stop the other team from winning,” Woodley said. “It’s a big component of my game. This year I think I stepped it up. When I played summer league, I wanted to try something new, hustling, getting on the floor, rebounding.”

Breeann Willich, 5-7 sophomore guard

After her family moved here from Montana last year, Willich had a big adjustment to make. She certainly had no problems doing that on the basketball court, especially this season. In addition to averaging 8 points per game, she was the team’s second leading 3-point shooter, making 42 long-range baskets this season.

“Bree is our most confident player,” Dale said. “Of all the girls that the moment’s not too big for, it’s Bree. If you said, ‘Down two, you’ve got two free throws, no time on the clock, state championship on the line,’ she would want the ball. I know she believes in herself. If it’s the right shot, I know she believes she should take it, and I want her to.”

You can sense the confidence in Willich when she speaks.

“I think it’s kind of innate in me in that I want it,” Willich said. “The beginning of the game I might struggle, but when it comes down it, I really prefer to take it into my own hands. I trust my teammates, but I want so badly to do the job. And I want to do it for my teammates, not just me. I don’t give up.

“Winning CIF was so amazing to me. It was truly a team effort. We try as much as we can to do team bonding, even if it’s just going out for pizza after the game or whatever. We have extraverts and we have introverts on our team and it’s very clear, but we don’t let it be an issue.”

Trinitee Bradley, 5-9 junior forward

Dale has high praise for Bradley, who averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. She had one of her best games of the season in a state playoff game at Righetti, scoring 18 points – including three 3-pointers.

“Trinitee has all the makings of a big-time player,” Dale said. “When it clicks, she’s special. I don’t know if sometimes in her head she defers to people or she feels like the third wheel, but she’s as talented as anybody.

“I think she’s an underrated defender. She’s another legit scorer who can play a bunch of positions and help us in lots of ways.”

Bradley is another player who credits team unity for the Wildcats’ success this season.

“Our teamwork and communication brought us closer together,” she said. “We always had that mentality; we always said we won’t be cocky or selfish.”

Bradley’s favorite personal memory this season?

“I’m not too good at my right hand and I’ve been working on it,” she said with a laugh. “The other day I made a shot with my right hand for the first time!”

Samayah Reed, 5-3 junior guard

Although Reed doesn’t get a lot of playing time, Dale can’t say enough about her presence as a team leader.

“Samaya almost never plays, yet she probably is the best leader of this group,” the coach said. “She’s really respected by the girls. If I’m not pregame talking, she’s doing a lot of it. She’s putting stuff on the board. She’s the one to huddle girls together pregame. I’m sure she’d like to play more, but I see her as incredibly important to the personality of the team.”

Reed says she takes that role seriously.

“I always want to help people to play better,” she said. “I don’t want them to get down. Sometimes I give the team pep talks if the energy’s low and nobody has faith in themselves. I try and pick everybody up."

Reed’s favorite memory was an incident off the court, during the team’s recent four-hour trip to play Righetti in Santa Maria.

“I had a lot of fun on that trip,” she said. “Just being on the road with the team. We went to the beach before we went to our hotel room. Everybody was just swimming in the water, having fun.”

Essynce Lewis, 5-6 sophomore guard

Dale sees big things the next two years for Lewis, who came on as the season progressed as a defensive player and rebounder.

“She’s all effort,” he said. “I don’t know if she’s an elite defender yet, but she’s on her way to becoming an elite defender and elite rebounder. She’s another player who just accepts her role. When she comes in, she’s happy to take over for Sydney and guard the other team’s best girl.”

Lewis admits that defense is her strength, and she said she recognizes the importance of uplifting her teammates, even when she isn’t in the game.

“Defense is mostly my thing,” she said. “I don’t score much, but I try to make plays for my teammates. Some of us don’t get playing time, but we all support each other. We’re excited to play away games, too. We like to take the crowd out of it.”

Christianna Hawkins, 5-10 freshman forward

Hawkins is the only freshman on the team. Dale said when he first saw her play, he decided she would be with the varsity team rather than JV.

“Christianna was a pleasant surprise,” said Dale. “She showed up so impressive in the summer and I said, ‘I want her with us.’ I saw this as a developmental year for her, and it has been. But she has continued to put herself in big games in big minutes. I feel very comfortable with her on the floor now in any situation. She’s tough and she’s incredibly athletic.”

As excited as she is about her own prospects for the next three years, Hawkins treasures the feeling of unity she experienced in her first high school season.

“I feel like we get each other,” she said. “We’re not just friends here, we’re also friends outside basketball.”

Angeline Valdivia, 5-1 sophomore guard

Valdivia was captain of the JV team this season and was brought up to the varsity for the CIF playoffs. She got in only at the end of games, but the experience of being part of a team effort in pressure situations is something that should help her in the future.

“She had a really good JV year,” Dale said about Valdivia. “Coming up here has been a really big adjustment for her, but I think these four weeks have been a pretty awesome crash course for her in big-time basketball.”

Valdivia agreed.

“It’s just the experience, coming and watching the different scenarios,” she said. “I don’t care if I don’t play right now. My goal is to play, but it’s a learning experience for me. I’m just proud to be here. Getting pulled up to varsity was a great opportunity, and I appreciate coach Dale for giving me that chance.”

Teamwork. Unity. Family. Success.

Those words are synonymous with the Wildcats’ season. Those are things neither the coronavirus nor the CIF State office can take away from them.