In 1982, the Pierce girls basketball team bested its county rival Colusa 41-37 to win what was referred to at the time as the Class AA title, and earn a chance at competing for a berth in the Northern California Tournament of Champions.
That team wound up losing 41-40 to Tulelake in the Small School Championship and, as a result, did not make it to the TOC.
However, this season, for the first time in 41 years, the Bears made an appearance in a section final game, and although No. 3 Pierce fell 43-57 to No. 1 Lassen in the contest for the Northern Section Division IV crown played at Shasta College last Saturday afternoon, the team is advancing to the state playoffs.
Against Lassen, the Bears certainly did not get the start they had hoped for as they got their only basket at the halfway point in the quarter, and found themselves down 14-2 at the end of the first period.
Yet, Pierce was not about to quit and rallied for 18 points in the second quarter, cutting the gap to six points, which made the score 26-20 at the half.
Coming out of intermission, the Bears continued their comeback, beginning with Jocelyn Medina draining a shot from beyond the arc to pull Pierce within three.
As the third period progressed, the Bears tied the score at 31 with a basket by freshman Magaly Jauregui, and then took what would prove to be their only lead of the game when a Jauregui steal led to a Medina layup.
From that point on, however, the Grizzlies took control underneath and additionally ramped up their trapping defense that made it tough on Medina, the section’s scoring leader, to get a clean look.
Despite facing a near constant double team, Medina finished with a game-high 24 points, eight below her season average, but ahead of Lassen’s Shade Satica, the second leading scorer in the Northern Section, who ended the contest with 18 points.
Medina’s effort came as no surprise to her coach, Luis Davalos, who said that there is much more to his star player than just her skills on the court.
“Jocelyn is an amazing player. The love and dedication she has is phenomenal,“ Davalos said. “During practice she is 100 m.p.h. She is pushing herself and her teammates to become the best they can be. But as great a basketball player as she is, off the court she is even more amazing; one of the most caring people you’ll ever meet.”
To get to the title game, the Bears first had to get through defending champion and No. 2 seed U-Prep, and did so in dramatic fashion as they held off the Panthers to claim the 78-76 road win.
Medina had a double-double with 39 points and 10 rebounds, and in doing so eclipsed the 3,000 point milestone for her career.
Jauregui had a breakout performance, tossing in a career high 17 points, while in the paint Cindy Corona corralled 11 rebounds and Kallie Stassi pulled down seven.
Despite the loss in the section title game, Davalos, who took over the team in mid-December, is pleased with what his squad has accomplished this season and is looking forward to seeing what it can do in the state playoffs.
“I’m proud of my team. They developed in numerous ways, such as believing and trusting each other. This young core showed why we deserved to be on the big stage,“ Davalos explained. “This was a great season and I wouldn’t change it for the world. We have Bear Pride and we will keep this process rolling into the state bracket.”
Pierce (26-3) received the No. 8 seed in the Division IV CIF State Girls Basketball Championships and faced No. 9 East Union (24-6), the Sac-Joaquin Division III runner-up on Tuesday. ■
