Madera South outplays Madera for CMAC win
Christopher Cross/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Alannah Ward shoots a 3-pointer during Friday’s victory over the Madera Coyotes. Ward hit eight of 11 3-point attempts for a game-high 24 points in the 51-40 victory over the. She was one of three Stallions in double-figures.
The Madera South Stallions kept draining 3-pointers and the Madera Coyotes girls basketball team couldn’t keep up with the barrage in a 51-40 loss in Joe Flores Gym.
Madera South’s Alanna Ward sank eight 3-pointers to account for all of her 24 points to lead all scorers.
“That was Alannah’s best game. We had a lot of conversations about what she wants to do with this,” head coach Johnny Sharp said. “Tonight, she was back. That was good to see.”
Brianna Lorta added 16 points and Mayra Ceballos had 11 to go with eight rebounds. Only three players scored for the Stallions.
Rhynne Mitchell led the Coyotes with 11 points to go with her game-high seven steals. While Madera South only had three players score, the Coyotes had eight, but Mitchell was the only player in double-figures.
“They outplayed us in every facet of the game,” Madera head coach Jason Smith said. “They wanted it more than we did.”
The Stallions also forced the Coyotes into 23 turnovers, including 12 in a pivotal third quarter.
“What really happened tonight is they played the angles well,” Sharp said. “They took beautiful angles, closed the door and got them in a lot of trap situations.”
Although the Coyotes out rebounded the Stallions (33-24), it was the Stallions that recorded win. Madera couldn’t take advantage of 19 offensive rebounds. Aaliyah String had 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive board, including two putbacks.
Ward’s hot shooting began at the beginning of the game with a 3-pointer to open the scoring.
Madera’s Erika Perez sank a free throw and Mitchell found String for a layup to tie the score.
Lorta made a layup to take the lead. Ceballos added two free throws and Lorta hit one of her two 3-pointers to cap a 7-0 run for a 10-3 lead.
Lilly Smith stopped the run with an offensive outback. The Coyotes stepped up their defensive intensity with Mitchell and Mayeli Hill getting steals, but Madera couldn’t get a bucket.
Mitchell recorded another steal and put in a layup to cut the lead to three.
Lorta followed a layup about a minute later. Mitchell found Sara Luna for a layup to cut the lead to three at the end of the first quarter.
Ward opened the lead to six with a 3-pointer. Luna found Perez for a layup to cut the lead to four.
Ward came back with another 3-pointer to get the lead to seven.
Assyria Goins hit a 3-pointer for the Coyotes to keep the lead at four. Madera South came back with a layup from Lorta. Madera answered with a layup from Syriah Hill off an assist by String for a 20-16 Madera South lead.
The Stallions answered with a Ward 3-pointer for a 23-16 lead.
A couple of minutes later, Faith Rocha drained a pull-up 15-footer and Perez made a free throw to get the lead back to four.
However, Ward closed the first half scoring with her fourth 3-pointer of the quarter for a 26-19 Stallions’ lead.
Lorta opened the second half with a 3-pointer to get Madera South’s lead to 10.
On Madera’s next possession. Lorta got a steal and converted that into a layup.
Smith found Luna for a Coyote layup, but the Stallions immediately answered.
After a Lorta steal, Ward hit a 3-pointer for a 34-21 lead.
Mitchell made a driving layup, but the Coyotes couldn’t find any consistent offense.
Ceballos put back a miss to get the lead to 13 and Ward hit another 3-pointer for a 39-23 lead and an 8-2 run.
Mitchell stopped the run with a layup. Ceballos added a free throw for the Stallions for a 15-point lead.
Lorta drained a 15-foot jumper to get the lead to 17. String put back a miss with 10 seconds left in the quarter to cut the Stallions’ lead to 42-27.
Luna hit a short jumper for the Coyotes, but the Stallions answered with a Ceballos lay-up.
After a trade in possessions, Goins got a steal and Mitchell scored on a layup to cut the lead to 13. However, Madera South answered with a Ceballos layup off a Lorta assist.
Mitchell tried to get the Coyotes back in the game with a banked-in 3-pointer to get within 12.
Madera South got the back breaker with a Ward 3-pointer and Ward found Ceballos for a layup for a 51-34 lead with about three minutes left in the fourth.
After a Syriah Hill offensive board, Rocha hit a 16-foot jumper. String put back a pair of misses for the final points of the game, but it was too little too late in a 51-40 loss to the Stallions.
