3C2A Women's Basketball quarterfinals #3: Sequoias survives in tough battle with Palomar

WALNUT -- College of the Sequoias, the state's no. 1-ranked team all season, was tested by South #4 seed Palomar, but the Giants outlasted the Comets, 77-71, in the 3C2A State Women's Basketball quarterfinals on Friday evening. 

The Giants are the ninth team to enter the tourney as an undefeated squad, now at 31-0. Palomar sees a 16-game win streak snapped, ending its season at 24-7.

In a contest full of twists and turns, Sequoias thought it was safe at 63-53 after a layup by Karine Dhaliwal early in the fourth quarter. But Palomar rallied on an 11-0 run as Neveah Mageo drilled a three for a brief lead.

The teams traded baskets, then Mageo hit another 3-pointer to give the Comets a 69-65 advantage. COS responded with a trey by Morgan Trigueiro, a steal by Kaitlin Giacone, and another bomb swished by Lucia Ricci as the Giants went ahead again at 73-69 with 3:22 remaining.

Palomar cut it to two with an offensive rebound then short jumper by Angeline Valdivia. The Comets had a few chances but solid COS defense forced low percentage shots. With the Comets forced to foul, Jocelyn Medina and Giacone each sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory.

Trigueiro led four Giants in double digits with 21 points (five threes), Giacone scored 15 and grabbed 15 rebounds, Medina, the NorCal State Player of the Year, posted 12 points, nine boards, and four assists, and Ricci totaled 11 points and nine rebounds. Anisa Torres added nine points.

"We played the toughest schedule in the state for a reason, and it was to prepare us to be here at state," said COS head coach and North Coach of the Year Tyler Newton. "We have an experienced team, and we also had to play our starters heavy minutes because of injuries. Hats off to Palomar, it's a team that has pushed us to the brink in both of our games. In the end, we made some big shots that got us over the top."

For Palomar, Mageo scored 16 points, Kylie Trujillo netted 15 (four treys), Brooke Quintana totaled 13 points and six assists, and Teanna Alaman tallied 12 points with five assists off the bench. 

Trujillo said: "We fought to get back into the game. We didn't let each other down. It was about knowing we are as good as them and having each others' backs. At the end, it was a lot of self-inflicted mistakes. We rushed too much and they read our passes. We didn't stay calm like were in the first half."

In the first quarter, Sequoias bolted ahead 8-0 and then 15-5 on back-to-back layups from Giacone. Palomar went on a 12-0 spurt capped by a 3-pointer by Mageo for a 17-15 Comets lead. Brooke Quintana buried a three that helped Palomar stay ahead, 23-19, by the end of the 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, the teams traded salvos with Kylie Trujillo sinking a trey to put Palomar ahead, 31-30. But Sequoias snagged the lead, 38-37, at intermission thanks to a floating baseline basket-and-one from Medina.

Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWBCA Publicist