Calipatria girls basketball continues onto second-round playoffs
CALIPATRIA — The Calipatria High girls’ basketball team continues to be led by its core group of four senior players.
Desiree Romero, Sadie Chavez, Alyssa Romero and Jaclyn Vega helped the Hornets to a dominant 48-30 first-round playoff win Tuesday night here at the Hornets Nest against Orange Glen High of Escondido.
The win advanced Calipatria to the second round of the CIF-SDS Division IV playoffs. This Hornet seniors are used to getting this far. This year, they hope to go farther.
In the 2016-17 season, the Hornets broke a more than 10-year playoff drought, advancing in Division V before losing in the second round.
Last season, they did the same thing as a Division IV team.
Vega said she believes that with the amount of practice she and her fellow seniors have put in this year, the Hornets are in tip-top shape for an even deeper run into the playoffs.
“I feel like it’s our senior year, and we’re going all out,” Vega said. “It’s either we win or we’re out, and we really want a ring, that’s what we say.”
“We’ll just give it our all,” Romero added. “I think we’ll play better this time, because it’s senior year, and we’re not guaranteed another game.”
The Hornets’ strong performance on Tuesday, however, did guarantee them another game, as they led the Patriots throughout the contest.
Romero finished with a team-high 19 points, followed by Chavez with 10 points.
Vega said she believed it was her team’s performance on defense which helped the Hornets win so comfortably.
“I think our defense was good, with the rebounding and passing out so Aly or Sadie could shoot,” Vega said.
In their previous two matchups this season, Calipatria had beaten Orange Glen by 10 or more points.
Romero noted that the Patriots’ star point guard, JJ Jones, was injured and did not play in the two team’s previous matchups.
“We just wanted to beat them again because we knew she would come back, and she was one of the main players,” Romero said. “I think she scored like 15 in the first half. Then in the second half we shut her down.”
With Tuesday’s win, the Hornets (16-10 overall) now advance to play at 7 p.m. Friday against the winner of the High Tech SD and Coronado High game.
“Today we played like it was our last game, and it showed,” Vega said. “And then on Friday, we’re going to play like it’s our last game. Hopefully, it’s not.”