Friday June 4, the No. 7 Avalon Lady Lancers basketball program played No. 2 Trinity Christian in the 5AA CIF semifinal game. After a hard-fought comeback against Linfield Christian in the Quarter-Finals Avalon felt confident going into the Semi’s. They battled hard but lost to a more consistent Trinity team, 61-41.
Trinity Christian had the best back court duo in 5AA with Kelly Lotz and Lily Caddow who both average double figures and generate over 80% of their offense. In the first quarter Avalon shut them down allowing only 4 points to be contributed by the dynamic duo. Besides the outstanding defense Avalon could only muster up 6 points themselves and saw a deficit of 5 at the end, 11-6. The Lady Lancers kept battling finding offense here and there but sustaining defensive excellence keeping the game close at the 4 min mark of the 2nd half, 15-13. Then Trinity went on a 16-0 run to finish the half and Avalon would be down 18, 31-13,
Despite being down by 18 points, the lady lancers did what they always do, battle hard. Midway through the 3rd quarter Vanessa Rodriguez was able to break away and score along with Giselle Alvarez’s 2 three pointers, and were able to bring Avalon within 10.
Avalon’s run came to a halt when unexpectedly Jianna Valestin hit two three-pointers in a row to put Trinity back up by 16. Avalon would never recover but they never gave up but lost the game 61-41.
“Although we lost the game, I am so proud of these girls. They played till the last second, never giving up. They truly represent the hard working people in Avalon, everyday fighting to make ends meet to provide better lives for their families. They showed the teamwork that is needed by community like ours to better the lives for our community members. We should all be proud of them,” Coach David Hart said.
The season is not over for Avalon. They have been invited to the Div. 5 state tournament starting next Tues.
