Panthers make history
Girls Basketball State Playoffs
Porterville High School’s girls basketball team earned a spot in the school’s record books Wednesday evening when they beat 10th-seeded Santa Clara 59-50 to become the first girls basketball team to win a state playoff game.
Hosting the Golden Hawks (19-8) in a first round game of the CIF State Division V Championship tournament, the seventh-seeded Panthers (275, 8-2 East Yosmite League) were also close to picking up their 22nd double-digit win of the season but a three-pointer from Santa Clara in the final seconds closed that door.
On Saturday, Porterville travels to Oxnard where they’ll face the Southern Section’s Div. 5-AAA champion, second-seeded Hueneme for a 6 p.m. second round game.
“We’ll try to get some information and see what happens,” PHS head coach Dave Kavern said. “But it’s one step and it’s bigger than anyone’s ever taken before.”
Porterville had control of the game early and their ability to shoot well from beyond the arc allowed them 15 points off three-pointers in the first half alone with senior Hailey Johnson and freshman Cienna Enriquez knocking down two apiece while sophomore Jazlynne Medrano also made one. Medrano led the team with 20 points and finished with three treys.
Porterville’s 28-13 first quarter lead was nearly erased in the second quarter with Santa Clara cutting the Panthers’ lead to just five to close out the first half with a combined four three-pointers from three players.
The Hawks came out fighting in the second half but struggled with turnovers and bad shot selections. They were outscored 14-7 in the third quarter with Porterville switching into a 1-2-1 zone defense, as well as a full-court press late in the quarter. Suzy Quintana was the Hawks leading scorer with 11 points but was held scoreless in the third.
But while it was Santa Clara who struggled with foul trouble in the first half, Porterville’s inability to rebound the ball cleanly became a problem in the third and fourth quarter. Both teams had two players foul out in the final quarter, with the Panthers losing starting sophomores Trinity Soliz and Jewelia Maniss.
“We weren’t moving our feet, we were just trying to get around, trying to go through somebody,” Kavern said. “So that’s something we’re working on the next two days.”
Medrano and senior Julia Hunter, who were key in the first quarter, closed out the game strong for the Panthers. Hunter finished with 14 points and went 6-for6 from the free throw line. Midway through the fourth quarter, Santa
Clara’s Natalie Maldonado received a technical foul and Hunter’s two free throws were a large part in swinging the momentum into the Panthers’ favor where it stayed for the rest of the game.
Porterville also got a lot of help from their bench with Johnson scoring all nine of her points off three-pointers and sophomore Johanna Scheer filling in for Soliz with some heads up plays in the final quarter.
“I thought after the first quarter things look pretty smooth but we really struggled,” Kavern said. “They’re a good team, they’re here for a reason. But we never gave up the lead. We had lot of kids with four fouls but [Johanna] Scheer came off the bench and did a good job. Hailey Johnson hit some big three’s in the first half. Mariah [Avila-peterson] did a good job. So our bench gave us the little more that we needed tonight.”