By: Kaylee Rivera
The Miners’ girls varsity basketball team played in the Corcoran Tournament December 4-7. The girls faced four teams: South, Foothill, Tulare Union, and Kern Valley. The Miners dominated throughout the tournament, winning all four games and leaving with a 1st place trophy.
On the first day of the tournament the Miners faced South (Bakersfield). From the first quarter, it was apparent that the Miners would be in command. They ended the first day with a win and an impressive score of 64-9. The second day was no different when they faced Foothill (Bakersfield). The Miners dominated once again and left with another win with a score of 61-35.
With two games down, the Miners went up against Tulare Union in the third game. The Miners needed another win to advance to the championship game. The girls pulled out all the stops once more and defeated Tulare Union with a game score of 60-37, advancing themselves to the championship game the next day.
To bring the trophy home, the Miners faced their hardest opponent, Kern Valley. Unlike the other three games where the Miners dominated their opponents, Kern Valley fought hard against our girls. In the first half, Kern Valley kept it close with the Miners. However, the Miners proved they were the better second-half team as they pulled away from Kern Valley’s grasp, leaving the game with a score of 65-50 and making them the champions of the Corcoran Tournament.
Photo: Maybel Rivera
Additionally, two players received special recognition for their performances. Junior Angelina Morales received an All Tourney medal and Senior Rian Jones-Dilihunt received a Tournament MVP plaque.
With this tournament being the second tournament of the season, Morales expressed how she felt about this tournament compared to the last one, “Honestly, I think the last tournament was way better because we played teams that were, like, more competition.
Despite bringing home another trophy, Morales felt like the team has played better against more competitive teams, ”I feel like we played way better against [competitive] teams than we did against these teams.”
From a coach’s perspective, Head Coach Jessica Cervantes, believes that the team played well, “We had some really good performances and it was a good opportunity for everybody to get playing time and for everyone to gel together, get in sync, and get on the same page.”
Going into the tournament, Coach Cervantes had many goals for the team, “My goals for the tournament [were] to provide an opportunity for everybody and for us to gain confidence. We had been playing tougher teams and I feel like playing teams that weren’t necessarily Division 1 powerhouses gave us the opportunity to gain some confidence.”
These Miners showcased an impressive performance throughout the tournament. Go support these Miners in their next tournament through December 26th-28th.