Friday, March 29, 2024

Pierce claims 2nd straight Jim Ernst title

The Pierce Bears were the champions of the 34th Annual Jim Ernst RedHawk Classic.

For the second year in a row, the Pierce Bears topped the competition at Colusa’s Jim Ernst RedHawk Classic to claim the championship.

Leading the way for the Bears at the 34th annual event that ran December 1-3, was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Jocelyn Medina, who averaged 30.7 points per game in the three wins.

Pierce began the tournament with a 53-30 win over Sutter behind Medina’s hot hand as she shot 71 percent from the floor and made 10 steals to complete the double-double.

Yet, there was plenty of help from her teammates with freshman Magali Jauregui dropping in nine points and collecting five boards, while Cindy Corona pitched in with six points and six rebounds.

In the second round, the Bears overwhelmed Durham 61-28 with Medina pouring in 29 points in addition to making eight steals and dishing out five assists.

Corona had another commendable effort with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Facing rival Colusa in a rematch of last season’s championship game, Pierce withstood a second half rally by the RedHawks to emerge with the 43-35 victory.

Medina posted her second double-double of the season with 30 points and 11 rebounds, while new head coach David Mullens also praised the play of Corona who corralled five boards on the defensive end and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Kallie Stassi was another All-Tournament selection for the Bears having contributed some strong play in the paint.

Although Pierce successfully defended its title, Colusa had a nice run in the tournament, reaching the championship game after downing Kelseyville 55-20 and Woodland Christian 52-32.

Against the Knights in the first round, Danica Chavez had a game high 14 points to lead a balanced attack that also saw Addison Lay finish with 10 points, while Karsyn Gwinnup and Jessica Deniz chipped in with eight points apiece.

The RedHawks followed up with a relatively easy win over Woodland Christian last Friday, as Carly Simmons and Chavez paced the team with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

In the finale, short-handed Colusa got 20 points from Chavez and eight from Alena Sanchez, both of whom earned All-Tournament honors.

Unbeaten in the early season, Pierce (3-0), was in Shasta Lake to face Central Valley on Tuesday before heading to the Woodland Tournament that begins today.

Colusa (2-3) squared off against Las Plumas in Oroville on Tuesday and hits the road to participate in the Durham Tournament, which also starts today.

Previous article
Next article

FOUND AN ERROR
The Pioneer Review strives for an accurate and complete news report. We strive to be responsive in correcting errors in material published online and in print. To request a correction, or a clarification, please email: publisher@mpg8.com

More News