Lady Warriors Basketball
Lady Warrior Alicia Johnson #15 battled for a rebound against a Bakersfield High player. BHS defeated the Warriors, 73-48,
ending the season for Tehachapi. (Photo by The Bakersfield Californian.)
Posted by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News, on February 25, 2017 Lady Warriors Save Best For Last
In CIF Hoops Tourney
The Tehachapi girls thought they could win it all.
That didn't happen, but they did win the admiration of their coach while throwing a scare into the No. 2-seed in their division.
And before it was all over, they gave fans and opponents a foreshadowing of just how bright the future could be for Warriors girls basketball.
“I could not be more proud of what these girls accomplished this season,” coach Jacques Vachon said.
The Warriors girls, starting two freshmen, a sophomore and sometimes just one senior, faced a must-win game in their regular-season finale, just to get into the CIF-CS Division II basketball tournament.
When they got past that hurdle, they stormed into the playoffs with some of their best basketball of the season.
Led by freshman Teagan Thurman's 17 points and 13 rebounds, the 10th-seeded Warriors upset No. 7 Tulare Western 53-46 on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in Tulare.
“The girls played their best game of the season against Tulare,” Vachon said. “It was their best overall performance.”
They led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter as Vachon was able to use almost his entire roster.
Senior Fiona Ferry added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, and sophomore Mady Cotta had 7 points and 17 rebounds.
Ferry led the defense with nine steals, and freshman Irey Sandholdt had five.
Senior Fiona Ferry played her final games as a Warrior against Bakersfield High. She was credited with playing
one of her best all-around games of the season scoring 14 points; grabbing 6 rebounds; dishing out 5 assists;
and had 10 steals. (Photo by The Bakersfield Californian.)
Lady Warriors vs. the Bakersfield High Drillers
That victory sent the Warriors into the quarter-finals on Thursday, Feb. 23, against a power Bakersfield High School team that was in for a big surprise.
“Tehachapi came out in the first half and wanted it more than we did,” Bakersfield coach Rashaan Shehee said. “They played way more physical and with much more intensity than we did.”
The Warriors led 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, and a 30-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter by Ferry kept the Warriors within 2 points, 33-31, at halftime.
Bakersfield wound up winning 73-48, but not before the youthful Warriors (16-13) threw the fear of Mountain hoops into them.
“We just ran out of juice midway through the third quarter,” Vachon said.
Bakersfield outscored Tehachapi 33-10 in the final 11 minutes.
Once again, Thurman led the Warriors with 17 points, but Ferry was the one that Vachon singled out as “the most productive player on the court.”
Ferry had 14 points and five assists, 10 steals, 14 deflections and 6 rebounds, “an incredible performance on her last high school game,” the coach said.
Junior Alicia Johnson, meanwhile, had her best night under the basket with 12 rebounds, followed by Thurman with 11, giving her a double-double in her second consecutive game.
Taylor Caldwell led all scorers with 28 points for Bakersfield.
“It was a painful loss but an incredible finish to the season,” Vachon said, “as the team came together and showed that they earned the right to be part of the tournament.”
Meagan Thurman jumps high to block a shot atempt by a Lady Driller. Thurman led the Warriors
in scoring with 17 points. (Photo by The Bakersfield Californian.)
