Warriors Basketball
Team leader Fiona Ferry #4 drives to the basket for the Lady Warriors. The Warriors dropped
two SYL games this past week and are now 3-6 in SYL play. The Lady Warriors
play their league finale against West on Feb. 15. (Photo by The Tehachapi News.)
Posted by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News, on February 12, 2017 THS Girls Hoops Fortunes Hanging on Final Game
Now, it was do or die for the Warriors girls.
After a pair of tough South Yosemite League losses last week, the girls faced a must-win situation at home against West in their final game of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
“As we stand today, we need a win against West to go to the CIF playoffs,” coach Jacques Vachon said. “We are looking forward to that.”
The Lady Warriors finished a stretch of three straight road games last week, losing at Golden Valley 53-33 on Wednesday, Feb. 8, then falling at Ridgeview 66-45 two days later, on Friday, Feb. 10.
“The pressure of games has more of an impact on players than anyone can predict,” Vachon said.
Vachon said the Warriors couldn't find their rhythm against Golden Valley as they fell behind early and were unable to recoup.
Freshman Teagan Thurman led the Warriors with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Fiona Ferry added 11 points and contributed four steals, as well.
Mady Cotta had six rebounds, and Alicia Johnson chipped in with five.
The Warriors lost 72-70 to Golden Valley the last time the two schools played.
“Our pressure defense, which gave them such a hard time in our first game, was not effective in this one,” Vachon said.
While Ridgeview was another loss, Vachon was much happier with his team's performance against a powerful Wolf Pack team.
“Our pressure defense kept Ridgeview below their average, but we could not make the ball go in,” he said. “We had more shots on basket during the first half than they did but kept missing.”
Ferry led all Warriors scorers with 16 points, and Thurman added 14. Mady Cotta led on the boards with eight rebounds, and Thurman had seven.
“Overall, a much better game,” Vachon said.
The loss left the fourth-place Warriors with a 3-6 league mark, 14-12 overall going into the game at West. The last time the Warriors played West, they won 61-47 in Bakersfield on Jan. 27.
Guard Davis Wheeler #24 tries to penetrate the lane in recent game action in Tehachapi.
The varsity Warriors are 3-6 in SYL play and play their final league game on Wednesday, Feb. 15
against West High. (Photo by The Tehachapi News.)
Posted by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News, on February 12, 2017 Warriors Rally Throws Scare Into Powerhouse Wolf Pack
Ridgeview was ranked 216th in the nation, 35th in the state and No. 1 in Division II of the CIF Central Section — yet, the Warriors made the Wolf Pack look vulnerable on senior night in Tehachapi.
Ridgeview might have been the winner, but the Warriors had the momentum.
“We just need to ride that momentum now,” senior forward Carson Bethany said. “We need to keep riding it.” Trailing twice by as many as 25 points and in danger of getting blown out by perhaps the best team they'll face all season, the Warriors clawed their way to within 10 points in the final seconds and wound up losing 72-60 on Friday night, Feb. 10.
“I'm very, very pleased at how well we played in the second half,” coach Louie Saavedra said. “The boys didn't panic, and they showed pure heart.”
Trailing 42-22 at halftime, Tehachapi won both of the final two quarters against a Ridgeview team that never sent in the subs, never quit but could never quite shake the Warriors.
“We discussed it at halftime,” Saavedra said. “We needed to fight for every loose ball, we needed to play better defense, we needed to chip away.”
And that's what they did.
In one 2½-minute stretch of the third quarter, the Warriors scored 10 consecutive points, six of them by David Wheeler. Ben Dayton hit two free throws that capped the run and trimmed the Ridgeview lead to 46-34.
The Warriors wound up outscoring Ridgeview 16-12 in the third quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Wheeler ignited a 7-point run with a three-point play, and Jesus Sanchez's layup pulled Tehachapi within 69-58 with 40 seconds to play.
After a Ridgeview free throw, Wheeler made a spinning move in the paint that netted the Warriors two more points, and they trailed just 70-60 with 11.6 seconds left.
Although they outscored Ridgeview 22-18 in the final quarter, time ran out on Tehachapi's comeback.
Wheeler scored 14 of his team-leading 21 points in the second half. Carson Bethany had 10 points, and Sanchez scored nine for the Warriors.
“We worked our tails off in practice for this game,” Saavedra said. “We wanted to give the Tehachapi fans and the community a competitive game.”
After losing to Ridgeview 92-54 in January, that's exactly what they did. The Wolf Pack, undefeated in the South Yosemite League, had scored fewer than 80 points only once in nearly a month, and that was in a 40-point victory over Golden Valley.
Combined with their own 70-35 victory over Golden Valley on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the Warriors had a 3-6 mark in the SYL, 12-14 overall. They were scheduled to play their final game of the season at West on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
“It's a game we can win,” Saavedra said. “If we can accomplish that, we're hoping for a single-digit seeding in the playoffs and maybe a home game.”
Encouraged and emboldened by their comeback against Ridgeview, the Warriors were confident they could do just that.
“Our mindset right now is to beat West and get a home game,” Sanchez said. “We've worked hard, we're a tough team. We know we can beat anybody.”
