In one of the most entertaining girls’ basketball games of the season, the Pierce Bears went to triple overtime against visiting West Valley in the quarterfinal round of the Northern Section Division IV playoffs last Thursday night, and emerged with a 75-72, hard-fought victory.
In an intensely physical contest that saw 43 fouls committed, and neither team led by four points, the No. 3 Bears dug deep to hold off the No. 6 Eagles, despite being at a distinct height disadvantage and losing the battle on the glass.
Still, having arguably one of the Northern Section’s best players in Jocelyn Medina, that task becomes somewhat easier.
Medina, who at times was hounded by every Eagle player on the court, still poured in 47 points to tie the 16-year-old section season scoring mark, and logged her second straight double-double after grabbing 16 boards.
Yet, to win, the Bears needed contributions from others and got just that, particularly from senior Mayra Sanchez, who recorded a double-double of her own, with a career best 22 points, including 12 in the three overtime periods, to go along with 16 rebounds.
Sanchez’ performance drew praise from her coach Taylor McGuire, who said, “Mayra really came alive tonight. I told her she was going to be an option for us, and she stepped up. I’m really proud of her.”
It was, however, truly a team effort from the Bears, as they additionally got strong play from Cassie Sanchez, Monika Herrera, and Gicelle Condrey, which McGuire also touched upon, crediting her squad for executing the game plan and giving their all throughout.
Still, another player making a noteworthy contribution to the night was Cindy Corona, who has seen limited minutes due to injury, but came up big with 33 seconds remaining as she grabbed the weak side rebound, and made good on the put back, to give Pierce a 73-70 lead.
Although West Valley cut the advantage to one, with 17 seconds remaining, Medina calmly drained two free throws before the defense prevented the Eagles from getting off a shot, as the final seconds ticked away.
With the win, Pierce advanced to the semifinal round and traveled to Susanville on Feb. 22 to take on No. 2 Lassen, with the winner clinching a spot in the championship game. ■