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Lady Coyote season ends in loss: Coso finishes 05-06 with 20 wins

By Kyle Kensing, Sports Editor, The Daily Independent

“Kids like that are hard to find this day and age.”

A successful-yet-injury-plagued season came to a “disappointing” end Saturday with a 54-46 loss at Chaffey College.

In a fitting conclusion to what was a hard knocks campaign, Coso (20-9, 8-6 Foothill Conference) lost Paris Allen in the first half. She suffered a wrist injury and was relegated to the sidelines for the rest of the night.

Her absence, coupled with a brutal 5-of-32 shooting performance, put the Lady Coyotes in a 26-17 halftime deficit they couldn’t make up, said head coach Tom Heck.

The Coso coach added that Darachelle Johnson and Ebonee Moses were strong in reserve, however.

“Our people off the bench played well and kept us in the game,” he said.

So did Mariah Bomberry, who scored a team-high 19 points. Joining her was Dar’Shelle Lynch, who had eight points.

The loss placed Coso in fourth for the season in the nine-team Foothill Conference, a solid finish for a squad playing most of the year with six players.

One of those six was Angel Lash, a freshman forward who was named All-Conference this week. Lash averaged 16.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

“Angel is a true baler from the old school,” Heck said. “She’s not affected by others, doesn’t allow the little things to bother her, and doesn’t blame things on the weather of the alignment of the stars. She just plays.

“Kids like that are hard to find this day and age.”

Lash had plenty of help down low in fellow forward Mariah Bomberry.

Bomberry led the team in rebounds at 11.1 a game, while averaging 16 points per game and hitting 33 3-pointers.

Heck also commended the play of point guard Stephanie Hart, the Lady Coyotes’ floor general the last two seasons.

Hart played most of the 2005-06 season with an ankle injury, but didn’t let it deter her from dishing a team best 112 assists.

Heck said trainer Kim Kelly was integral in keeping players like Hart in condition to play.

“She literally kept our kids in uniform,” he said.

Another Lady Coyote who played through pain was Allen. Despite some bruises and dings, she was an offensive weapon all season, averaging 16.4 points per game and sinking a team-best 49 3-pointers.

Lynch rounded out Coso’s double-digit average scorers with 14.7 a game. She also ranked second on the squad in assists with 84, and led the team in steals at 92 on the year.

These contributions made for a productive season. Although the Lady Coyotes missed out on their goal of a playoff berth, they made great strides in reaching 20 wins.

“We struggled in some areas, mainly offensively,” Heck said. “But there were times when our kids showed a lot of guts.

“[We were] outmanned [by] teams that have great depth on many night, and still found a way to win.”

Friday, February 24, 2006

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