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Coyote upset bid falls just short against Desert

By Nathan Ahle, The Daily Independent

"It was a scene out of a 'Rocky' movie."

"It was a scene out of a 'Rocky' movie."

That's how Cerro Coso Lady Coyotes basketball coach Tom Heck described his team's 63-59 loss to the College of the Desert Roadrunners at the Raymond A. McCue Athletic Complex Monday night.

The third-place Roadrunners battled a depleted Coyote roster. Cerro Coso (3-7) was forced to play without the services of Cetra Banks, the team's tallest player. Banks was away from the team for Monday night's contest.

"We squeezed every ounce of energy from those six kids tonight," said Heck. "They played with huge hearts.

The Roadrunners came out of the gate quickly and took a 36-19 lead at intermission. Desert was able to take a quick lead thanks to a 51 percent shooting clip in the first half, while Cerro Coso connected on only six of 28 shots.

In the second half, Cerro Coso switched to a man-to-man defense, while the Roadrunners looked to extend the lead early in the half and rest their starters.

It wasn't to be, however. The Coyotes began to hit outside shots and chipped away at the Desert lead. In fact, Cerro Coso took a three-point lead with eight minutes to go in the game. Unfortunately for Heck and his team, the lead was short-lived, as the Cerro Coso offense began to falter down the stretch. The team hit only two of its final 10 shots on the night.

"We missed some open shots, but we just flat ran out of gas," said Heck.

With one of its most experienced players (Banks) out of action, Cerro Coso had to tap into its reserves to make it through the game.

Christina Franklin and Jaime Donaldson, two players who are accustomed to coming off the bench for the Coyotes, were pressed into action and performed well, according to Heck.

"These two kids haven't had a lot of playing time this season, and they played outstanding tonight," the coach said.

However, Franklin fouled out with seven minutes to play, leaving Cerro Coso even more shorthanded. This was an especially precarious situation, considering that two of the five players remaining had four fouls, just one away from fouling out.

"We were one foul from disaster," said Heck. "But our kids still played good, aggressive defense in the second half."

Three players led Cerro Coso in scoring, as Franklin, Fernanda Yazzie and Candace Poleyestewa each finished with 14 points. Orlanda Chee added nine points, while Donaldson and Stephanie Hart scored four points each.

The Coyotes have four games left to try to earn a playoff spot. The team travels to Victorville Saturday night to face the Victor Valley College Rams. On Feb. 7, the team hosts Barstow College, and will face Mt. San Jacinto on Feb. 14 at home.

The Coyotes conclude their season Feb. 19 against Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga.

February 1, 2005

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