Colton, CA—The Lady Yellowjackets are headed for the CIF Division 5AA finals.
On Saturday night they defeated the La Mirada Matadores 43-42 in front of a packed home crowd at the Hubbs gym.
Savannah Govea led Colton with nine points, six assists, and five rebounds. Off the bench, Zoey Espino had eight points. Jasmine Jimenez and Olivia Torres both scored six. For La Mirada, Jael Arreguin scored 16 points, and Jirah Domingo had 15.
At halftime, a victory seemed unlikely for Colton. When the Yellowjackets went into their locker room they looked like maybe they had met their match.
The Matadores came out swinging in the first half, getting ahead by as much as 12 late in the second quarter. They were fast, aggressive, pressing, and out-rebounding Colton.
And then Savannah Govea, who struggled with foul trouble, eventually fouling out late in the fourth quarter, earned a technical foul by slamming the basketball against the court. She was getting sandwiched by double teams in the Matadores full court press and was tired of the lack of foul calls.
That technical foul proved to be a wake up call for the Yellowjackets, who ended the quarter strong as Govea knocked down a three pointer that cut the La Mirada lead to nine, 26-17.
After halftime, the Yellowjackets were not the same team.
“I gave them a firm pep talk,” said head coach Keisha Young about her halftime message. “I let them know that the basketball we played the last two quarters was not the same basketball we played that got us here. That was not the postseason Yellowjackets; that was the regular season Yellowjackets.”
The message was received, and when Colton emerged from the locker room, they were a different team, going on a 14-3 run in the third that put them ahead going into the final quarter.
Once Colton caught up, the two teams traded punches, with La Mirada relying on free throws to keep them in the game. They finished the game with 33 free throws to Colton’s 11, converting 18.
But the game came down to one moment. With Colton down 42-41, Govea fouled out with 24 seconds left. La Mirada’s Jael Arreguin went to the line and missed both free throws. Jasmine Jimenez grabbed the rebound, hit Zoey Espino with the outlet pass, who after a couple dribbles lobbed it to Izabella Oliver at the three-point line who lasered the ball to Olivia Torres on the break for the game-winning layup.
“Honestly, I didn’t know I made the game winner,” Torres said about the shot. “I was just trying to rack up the points to get my team the lead. And that’s what mattered at the moment.”
Oliver, who had the assist, was also shocked a bit by the moment. “I just thought, ‘If I miss this, I’m gonna get yelled at by Coach.’ Olivia was fast enough, so I just found her real quick because I got vision.”
The basket turned out to be the game winner, and Colton again found themselves celebrating after the game at midcourt.
Now they will face Adelanto High School, who defeated Savanna High 60-48. The game will be played on Feb. 24 at 4:00 p.m. at Colony High School in Ontario.*
*Update at 12:11 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2024 to note changes in scheduling by CIF.
