3C2A Women's Basketball Semifinal #1: Delta Heads To Finals Behind Its Defense

N1 San Joaquin Delta (27-5) plays S3 MiraCosta (31-1) in championship game on Sunday, 1 p.m.

VISALIA -- San Joaquin Delta College is knocking on the championship door once again. But will it finally open for the Mustangs.

For the fourth time in its history, the North No. 1 seed Delta advanced to the finals after defeating North No. 3 Laney, 71-62, in the 3C2A State Women's Basketball Championship semifinal #1 on Saturday afternoon.

Delta (27-5) has never won a state crown, settling for runner-up at the 2006, 2009 and 2022 championship finals. Laney (26-4) records its highest finish in school history in a tie for third place and saw a 22-game win streak stopped. 

The Mustangs used an impenetrable defense to draw a slew of charging fouls on the Eagles. Laney was called for 24 fouls overall and saw its All-State point guard Ashanti Dias foul out with four minutes left. Delta took advantage at the free throw line, making 20-for-26 (77 percent).

All-State Aaliyah Youngblood led the way with 18 points and the Mustangs other All-State player Fajr Cuthbertson came off the bench to score 17 and grab 10 rebounds. Jakayla Gilmer added 14 points and three steals, La Ne'Dunn grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds with three takeaways and Marcelina Chaparro provided solid defense as she was able to draw some of the charges and made two steals.

"In 2022, we got to the finals by drawing charging fouls," said Delta head coach Gina Johnson, who passed the 800-win mark in her 33rd season at this level earlier this year. "Our defense has been a big part of this season's team. Some people are just glad to make it to state, but we have a sophomore group that means business. There's just one gold banner in our gym and it's the men's team from 1984, so now we are taking it one game at a time and we will see what happens."

The opening was eerily similar to the first meeting between Delta and Laney, a 77-74 overtime win by the Eagles right here at College of the Sequoias on Dec. 5. In that game, the Mustangs raced out to a 21-5 lead after one quarter and 30-11 in the second period only to have Laney rally for the Gilchrest tourney victory. 

In this game, Delta drained back-to-back 3-pointers by Gilmer and Youngblood for a quick 8-0 lead and upped it to 25-14 after 10 minutes. Gilmer drilled a trio of threes for nine points and Youngblood scored seven. The Mustangs built it to 13 and just like the first meeting, Laney stormed back, outscoring Delta, 22-8, in the second period in taking a 36-33 halftime lead.

Laney's 6-foot-4, All-State center Sophia Goncalves-Askew shows a special finesse in her game and it showed with some smart passes in the paint that led to a few baskets. She had six points, 10 rebounds and four assists by halftime.

In the comeback, Dias swished two bombs from the top of the arc, Erinn Gardere and Lindsey Wirgler also netted threes. A layup-and-one by Nicole Guzman on a pass by Goncalves-Askew gave Laney the lead for the first time at 34-33 with 1:26 left. 

In the third quarter, Delta drew four Laney charging fouls and outscored Laney, 26-16. After three ties and three lead changes, The Mustangs went on an 11-2 spurt with Cuthbertson making the final five points for a 59-52 lead. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Laney's Gianna Ghio hit a layup, sank a trey, and a turnaround jumper off the glass that cut it to 65-62 with 2:19 left. In the final minute, Delta ran the clock and moved the ball around the perimeter before finishing the sequence with a layup by Isabella Azzolino (eight points) with 20 seconds to go that put a finishing touch on the win.

"Give them credit, they forced us into turnovers and drew charges on us," said Laney first-year head coach Bryan Gardere. "For some reason, we were out of sorts. Might have been the moment, playing in a big game like this. The fouls hurt us and we had to play those final few minutes without our court leader."

Ghio scored 15 to pace the Eagles, followed by 13 by Dias (plus five assists and three steals), 10 by Gardere. Askew-Goncalves totaled nine points and 14 boards.

Delta has made 15 Elite Eight tourneys under Johnson's direction. 

Release by Robert Lewis, 3C2A Championship SID