Gallery • 7 Photos

Alyssa Guadalajara

JV standout Alejandra Flores knocks down a three pointer during the game against Rosemead. The crowd of varsity basketball players was so fired up along the sidelines that the referees gave a warning to the Colton bench to tone down the cheers.

Colton, CA—”They were hungry tonight.”

Yesterday morning, Coach Keisha Young sent her morning text to her varsity squad to get a temperature check for last night’s game. “I said ‘I hope you guys are hungry because I’m ready to eat.’”

After the team’s frustrating two point loss to AB Miller on Monday, the Yellowjackets were ready to get back in the win column against the Lucerne Valley Mustangs. And, as their coach insisted, they ate.

And ate. And ate.

The Yellowjackets came out fast and furious on Wednesday night, destroying the Mustangs 56-9 in front of the raucous home crowd at the Hubbs Gym, improving their record to 7-2.

Savannah Govea led all players with 28 points on 11-19 shooting and 5 steals. She was a whirling dervish all night, interrupting passing lanes and pushing the tempo on the overmatched Mustangs.

“I wanted to win,” Govea said. “We lost twice to teams that we weren’t supposed to lose to.”

The Yellowjackets also got offensive production from Madison Prieto and Desiree Cadena, both of whom finished with 6 points. And Lia Tovar, who has been struggling from the field of late, got back on the scoresheet with 5 points.

Senior center Emely Rodriguez, who finished with 2 points and 13 rebounds, was excited about what the Yellowjackets are doing on the court. “I see the communication and the hustling on the court. We all work together as a whole.”

From the opening tip-off, the Yellowjackets wasted no time getting the jump on the Mustangs. Govea hit her first two 3 pointers and scored 12 in the first quarter alone. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Prieto and Rodriguez kept Lucerne out of the paint, setting up a number of turnovers.

At the half, Colton was up 28-3 as 7 players put up points in the 16 point second quarter. After the half, the Mustangs folded, and Colton coasted to the easy victory.

The girls take the court again on Friday at Rubidoux High School.

Notes:

Since Lucerne Valley did not have a JV squad, Rosemead High School sent their JV team. Traffic issues caused the JV game to start over 30 minutes late. To avoid the varsity games starting too late, the JV quarters were shortened to 6 minutes and the National Anthem was removed from the varsity girls’ game. JV beat Rosemead 44-7, with point guard Regina Flores scoring 12 points.