Desert Hot Springs, CA—On December 7, Lia Vellanoweth’s fingers were broken during Colton’s game against Redlands. She sat on the bench for 15 games, itching to get back into the action.
Against Notre Dame in the Skyline league tournament championship game, she saw a little playing time, and against Nogales in round one of the CIF playoffs, she knocked down two three pointers and grabbed three rebounds in limited minutes.
On Saturday night, against Desert Hot Springs in the second round of the CIF playoffs, Vellanoweth’s patience paid off. With 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Colton down 53-51, she knocked down the game winning three point shot that catapulted her team into the CIF quarterfinals as they defeated the Golden Eagles 54-53.
“I honestly didn’t know it was to win the game,” a shocked Vellanoweth said after the game about her miracle shot. “I thought it was just to tie it. I am just so happy that I made it. I’m so glad I got back in time for CIF. I missed playing and so I’m just happy to be back. ”
Vellanoweth finished the game with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three. Her contributions on the offensive end were just the shot in the arm her team needed in a tight game in which their shots weren’t falling.
To call the game tight is an understatement. There were 11 lead changes in the second half, with both teams going back-and-forth at each other.
Colton’s defense kept interrupting the flow of Desert Hot Springs’ offense, racking up 30 steals as they aggressively attacked the passing lanes. Savanna Govea, who has been averaging 4.4 steals per game this season, snagged 11 steals in this game.
The Golden Eagles relied heavily on Skylar Svidergol, their 6’4 center, who played over the top of the smaller Yellowjackets as she set up camp in the lane, scoring 19 points on layups and putbacks.
This meant that everything came down to that last play. Desert Hot Springs had the ball with 17.4 seconds left. Zoey Espino came up big on the inbound as she intercepted the pass and got the ball to Tovar, who quickly stepped back behind the three-point line, set her feet and let fly.
Colton’s fans, who traveled into the desert and packed the Desert Hot Springs gym, erupted in pandemonium, drowning out the home crowd with chants of “Col-ton! Col-ton!”
“They were the most relaxed team under pressure,” said coach Keisha Young. “They kept their cool, showed poise and went out there and won the game.”
After the final buzzer, the girls piled atop each other at center court, celebrating another historic moment in their history making run.
In addition to 11 steals, Govea finished the game with 14 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Olivia Torres scored 10 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, 11 of which were on the offensive end as the team fought to box out and keep the ball out of the hands of Svidergol.
Off the bench, Izabella Oliver had 4 points and 5 rebounds, but those numbers do not do justice to her contributions on the defensive end, where her efforts kept Colton in the game during the second and third quarters as the Golden Eagles made runs.
This was a challenge that head coach Keisha Young made during the pregame meeting, calling on her role players to step up and be the “X-factor.” Vellanoweth and Oliver made good on their promise, and the Yellowjackets are now headed to the CIF quarterfinals on Feb. 14 where they will meet their crosstown rivals, Grand Terrace.
Grand Terrace, seeded number 2 in the Division 5AA bracket, defeated Carpinteria on Saturday night 39-37. This sets up a Valentine’s Day showdown between the two rivals. The teams have played each other twice this year, with each winning one. The Titans won 51-43 on Nov. 16 and the Yellowjackets got them back 53-52 on Dec. 22.
This is the first time the two schools will compete against each other in a CIF playoff game in any sport.
The CIF Quarterfinal game will take place on Feb. 14 at Grand Terrace High School. Due to CIF rules that each advancing team should receive a home game, the Titans get the home game despite the lower seeding as they played their first two rounds on the road. Game time will be at 7 p.m.
