Stallions dominate Cowgirls in tourney
Wendy Alexnder/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Jasmine Duarte looks for her shot down low during Wednesday’s victory over Riverdale. She led the team with 10 rebounds and scored four points.
The Madera South Stallions girls basketball team didn’t allow a point to the Riverdale Cowgirls in the first half to cruise to a 58-16 victory to open the first day of the Madera Shootout at Madera South.
The Stallions forced 25 first half turnovers and took 50 shots in the first half to jump out to a 45-0 lead at the half and cruise control set in Wednesday evening.
“It was amazing. I don’t think we missed a shot in the first 10 shots,” head coach Johnny Sharp said. “After we got up by so many points, we tried to pull back. We didn’t want to embarrass a team. That’s not our style. I’ve been on both sides of it. Once we slowed down, it got us out of character and made some mistakes.”
The Stallions actually missed some shots in the first quarter, but they made seven of their first 12 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers from Jackie Cortez, who scored all 10 of her points in the first quarter.
Madera South had three players score in double-figures. Including Cortez, Jonese Feliu scored 10 and Ashley Leuvano scored all 11 of her points in the second quarter, which included three banked 3-pointers.
In all, Madera South had 10 players score, forced 37 turnovers with 28 steals and pulled down 44 rebounds with 26 on the offensive glass to thoroughly dominate the Cowgirls.
“We needed the victory,” Sharp said. “It was good four our team. The camaraderie of the team came together. They played well together. I love this team.”
The Stallions started the pressure from the opening tip when Feliu stole the ball away from a Riverdale player and made a layup.
Feliu then put back an offensive rebound and Alejandra Cortes hit a 10-foot jumper.
Cortez got into the act with a 3-pointer. She then stole the ball away from a Cowgirl and went in for a layup. Two possessions later, she hit another 3-pointer. After a steal from Jessica Duarte, Cortez made another layup for a 16-0 lead.
Feliu put back her own miss for another bucket, but the Stallions went cold for the next two minutes.
Alannah Ward broke the drought with a free throw. Lexi Cota came up with a steal and made a layup. Duarte closed the first quarter scoring with a 17-foot jumper for a 23-0 lead.
In the second, after an Arianna Lopez steal, Leuvano banked in her first 3-pointer.
Arelis Chavez scored down low for a 28-0 lead. Leuvano banked in two more 3-pointers to increase the lead to 34-0.
After a Chavez rebound, Leuvano hit a 15-foot jumper. Ward followed with a 3-pointer and Jasmine Duarte put back two missed shots for a 43-0 lead.
Jessica Duarte closed out the first quarter scoring with a seven-foot jumper to give the Stallions a 45-0 lead at the half.
Fifteen seconds into the second half, Riverdale scored its first points. The Cowgirls scored the first seven points of the second half, but took 6:26 of clock time to do it. In the meantime, Madera South turned the ball over on seven of its first eight possessions and missed its first 11 shots of the second half.
Braya Walker finally broke the drought by putting back a miss for a 47-7 lead.
Cortes hit a 3-pointer and Feliu tipped a pass to Cortes for a steal. Cortes gave it back to Feliu for a layup and a 52-7 lead at the end of the third quarter and institute a running fourth quarter clock.
Feliu opened the fourth quarter with a layup, but Riverdale put back a miss for a bucket. Walker put back a Madera South miss while Riverdale scored the next five straight points.
Chavez scored the final Stallion points of the game with a layup. Riverdale closed the scoring with a four-foot jumper for a 58-16 loss.
Madera South continues in the tournament until today. They played Friday at 7:30 p.m. and todays game is determined by how they played in the previous three days.
