'We nearly had a Hoosiers movie in Ridgecrest'
By Cheeto Barrera, Sports Editor, The Daily Independent
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“We had plenty of chances to win the game,” |
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With 22 seconds on the clock and trailing by one, Cerro Coso went to
a trap defense against Rio Hondo to keep the game within reach. The trap
worked as Felicia Miller came up with a steal and drove down the court
trailed by three Rio Hondo players.
Miller was forced to kick out and the ball was passed around until it
found the hands of Sheerena Gene - the Coyotes' best shooter on the day.
Twice Gene went up under the rim and twice the ball bounced off, the
second time Rio Hondo rebounded with five seconds left on the clock.
Despite having five fouls to give, it wasn't enough for the Coyotes to
create a turnover, ultimately falling 67-66 in the season finale.
“We nearly had a Hoosiers movie in Ridgecrest,” said head coach Tom
Heck. “We were a lay-up away from what would have been a great win for
us - as outmanned as we were. You had the six warriors battling - the
two groups going back and forth. ... It was absolutely a great effort on
our part.”
After using up their fouls, Rio Hondo missed the first of the
one-and-one free throw attempts, with Gene catching the rebound with
three seconds left. Brenda Cantrell caught a quick pass and drove it
past half court and put up a desperation shot that fell just short.
As the buzzer sounded, the Coyote ladies slunk back to the bench and sat
in disbelief.
“We had plenty of chances to win the game,” Heck said
For some, including Gene, it was the last game as a Coyote they would
play. And after a moment to collect their thoughts, and receive a few
hugs from athletic trainer Kim Kelley, it was off to the class room for
one final post game pep talk from coach Heck.
Both teams could easily had blown the game open early on. For Rio Hondo
it was a lack of shooting. The saving grace was 44 rebounds and 11
3-pointers.
For Cerro Coso it was free throws. The Coyotes missed nine on the night
going 8-17 from the line.
As a result, the Coyotes finishes the season 10-17 and 3-13 in the
Foothill Conference.
It took Cerro Coso a little more than five minutes to get on the board
before Lashonda Jones hit a field goal.
The Coyotes quickly fell behind 13-9 before going on a 12-0 scoring run
that turned the game into a shoving match the rest of the way.
Mid way through the second half, Cerro Coso led by as much as seven
before Rio Hondo rallied and tied the game at 60 with 3:22 to play. The
Coyotes managed to keep until the two minute mark when Rio Hondo sank a
3-pointer.
“It's a heart breaker because I thought we had a great chance at the
end,” Heck said. “But give Rio Hondo credit, they had a lot of shooters.
At the end, a couple of the kids stepped up.”
All Heck could do was throw up his arms.
“What can you do?” Heck asked. “Rio Hondo is like a dam, a leaky dam.
You can only put your fingers in so many holes.”
Gene led the Coyotes with 23 points followed by Jones and Mariah
Bomberry with 14.
Gene also led in rebounding with 10 on the night.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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© 2008
The Daily Independent.
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