Paloma Valley defeats rival Heritage in girls basketball
Christianna Hawkins, who led all scorers with 20 points, puts up a shot in Thursday's game. (Photo by Rick Rowell) By Paige Mendez, Corr...
By Paige Mendez, Correspondent
The Paloma Valley High girls basketball team won its rivalry game at Heritage High Thursday night, 54-46.
Paloma got out to a fast start with an early 10-2 scoring streak but, thanks to a Patriots 3-pointer from Sierra Maxwell, the lead was cut to five shortly before the first period ended.
The Wildcats had another run to start the second period and extended the lead to 19-6 with Ashleey Medrano bringing in a smooth layup. Then Mariah Logan of Heritage helped her team get back to within six by halftime with two of five 3-pointers she made on the night.
The pattern continued with the Wildcats starting the next two periods with a deep run, leaving Heritage with quite the uphill battle. But it was a battle the Patriots fought well, going from trailing by as much as 19 to cutting the lead to eight within the last five minutes of the game, helped by Logan and Maxwell’s 17 and 13 points, respectively.
The Wildcats, in their first season under a new head coach, was led by seniors Christianna Hawkins, who led the team with 20 points on the night, and Kyiara Igwe-kalu, who picked up 7 of her own and was one of the night’s top rebounders, as well as Medrano, who had 10 points on the night.
Coach Gabriel Flores said those athletes really made the difference in the game for his team, which is now 4-2 overall.
“[They] have a really good advantage…they’re our workhorses,” Flores said . “Ashlee is solid, great on defense and a great kid.”
After a tough 75-48 loss to Ontario Christian on Tuesday, Flores said he was especially looking forward to a win on Thursday.
“We needed a bounce back game and there’s no better one than against your natural rival,” said Flores.
The Wildcats will have two more road games before their first home game against Rancho Verde on Wednesday.
The loss for Heritage puts them at a 1-3 overall record, with their win coming last Tuesday against Tahquitz. Maxwell, who has led the team in every game this season and is averaging 20 points per game, was the key to their game, according to head coach Deanna Meijer.
“Sierra is always solid,” said Meijer. “We can always count on that.”
Sophomore Reg’inae Hardin led the Patriots with 8 rebounds on the night, but racked up three fouls on the night that kept her out for a decent part of the second half. Foul trouble, as well as 18 team turnovers, were Heritage’s biggest problems on the night, according to Meijer.
“We didn’t play as smart as we normally do and we gave up a lot of opportunities,” Meijer said. “We’ve got to clean it up; it was a bunch of little things tonight.
“We’re rebuilding this team a little bit, so don’t count us out.”
Next up for Heritage is a home game against Vista del Lago Tuesday night.
Mariah Logan, who led Heritage with 17 points, puts up an outside shot. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Sophomore guard Ashlee Medrano drives to the basket for a layup Thursday night. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
