Page 13 - Reedley Exponent 3-8-18 E-edition

IMMANUEL
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the team that dropped off for Immanuel.”
Kendricks scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including going 10-for-10 from the foul line.
Coach Woods said Kend- rick's performance and lead- ership helped the team late in the game.
“Nate is a gamer. He just gets it done, and when he has the ball in his hands he always makes the right decision,” Woods said.”
Rodriguez, a junior guard who is in his first year at Im- manuel, said he has attended the championships at Selland Arena since he was in eighth grade. Winning the title was a special moment.
“I have been dreaming about this since I was a kid,” Rodriguez said. “I have al- ways been here watching, and now I am living the moment. It is exciting.”
Down 45-30 midway through the third quarter, the Eagles scored nine of the next 11 points to cut the Apaches' lead to 47-39 after three quar- ters.
Immanuel kept the mo- mentum going to open the fourth quarter.
A jumper by Gavin Lloyd cut the Sanger lead to 47-41. After forcing a Sanger turn- over, Kendricks hit a layup to cut the lead to 47-43.
Lloyd stole the ball from Sanger's Isaiah Cuevas on the ensuing possession which led to two free throws by Kendricks.
This cut the Apaches lead to 47-45, with 6:14 left in the game.
After the Eagles defense forced another Apaches' turn- over, Kendricks hit two more free throws to tie the game at 47-47, with 5:53 left.
Sanger ended the Imman- uel run on a basket by Morice Norris, which gave the Apach- es a 49-47 lead.
But that would be the fi- nal lead of the game for the Apaches.
Kendricks connected on two more free throws on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 49-49, with 5:29 left.
After a steal by Immanu- el, Rodriguez made a layup to give the Eagles their first lead
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Nate Kendricks, Immanuel High Eagles guard, had 34 points to lead the Eagles to a 68-57 win over No. 1 seed Sanger High on March 3 at Selland Arena.
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Ava Galpin, Immanuel High Eagles girls basketball center, had 26 points and 18 rebounds to help lead the Eagles to a 43-37 win over Golden Valley High of Bakersfield in the Central Section Division III Championship on March 3 at Selland Arena in Fresno.
TheReedleyExponent B5Thursday,March8,2018
of the game at 51-49 with 5:16 remaining.
Daglish stole the ball from Sanger's Norris on the ensu- ing possession, scored a fast break layup and was fouled. He hit the free throw to ex- tend the Eagles' lead to 54-49.
Up 54-51 with 3:01 to go in the game, Shawn Rodgers drove into the lane.
He passed the ball to Ro- driguez, who was wide open in the corner.
Rodriguez connected on a three-pointer to give the Ea- gles a 57-51 lead with 2:35 left.
The shot sent the Immanu- el bench and fans into frenzy. “Once we get going we are unstoppable,” Rodriguez said.
Immanuel kept their fans energized by scoring the next seven points to push their lead to 64-51 with 55 seconds left.
The Apaches never chal- lenged the Eagles late in the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Eagles celebrat- ed at center court.
“We knew they were not 15 points better than us. We pulled it together as a team and were able to battle back,” Kendricks said. “In that fourth quarter it showed.”
Free throws were a key to the
Eagles winning the game. The Eagles shot 27-for-32 or 84 per- cent from the free throw line in the game, including going a per- fect 14-for-14 in the final quarter.
After shooting 28 percent from the field in the first half, Immanuel shot 56 percent in the second half, while holding Sanger to just 40 percent.
“I told them to keep up the energy. We pride ourselves in making smart decisions on defense and hitting free throws when we have those chances,” Woods said. “We forced turnovers and were able to capitalize on them in the fourth quarter.”
Kendricks said Immanuel's win should let the Valley know that Immanuel basketball is here to stay.
“It means there is no drop off at Immanuel,” Kendricks said. “You can never sleep onus.IamgladIwasableto bring a fifth straight title to Immanuel. It means a lot to me. To see a lot of great players be- fore me get it done here and to be able to continue the tradition
is good.”
Chris Woods, Immanuel High Eagles boys basketball head coach, led the Eagles to the Division III title in his first year at the helm.
Woods is shown in this picture celebrating the Eagles' 68-57 win over Sanger High on March 3 at Selland Arena.
It was the first section title for Woods, who took over the program in May.
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
EAGLES
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“I told the underclassmen that it is going to be louder and brighter in the arena, but we have to stay focused,” Gutier- rez said. “I told them we can't change the environment, but we can change how we are playing.We just needed to adapt to it and play hard.”
Galpin scored 13 of the Eagles' 18 points in the third quarter to give the Eagles a 30-23 lead after three quarters.
“I always say spacing equals scoring. We just had to take our time and try to get the ball to Ava,” Todd said.
The Eagles kept the mo- mentum rolling in the fourth quarter. When clock hit zero, the celebration started at cen- ter court.
“We really wanted to win this. We were not going to give it up,” Gutierrez said. “It showed by how we hustled and played smarter in the second half.”
Krystale Gutierrez, Immanuel High Eagles girls basketball player, had 23 rebounds in the Eagles' 43-37 win over Golden Valley High.
Gutierrez helped lead the Eagles to the Central Section Division III Championship.
It was the Eagles' fifth title in six years and Gutierrez's third title.
She was a member of the teams that won the Division IV titles in 2015 and 2016.
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Coach Todd said he was thrilled that the team was able to win.
“The team has been fight- ing all season,” Todd said. “Ev- erybody on this team scrapped and stayed unified even through adversity. It says a lot about the players on our team. We have fighters.”
The Eagles were coming off an upset victory over the No. 1 seed Fresno High War- riors on Feb. 28 in Fresno.
Galpin had 20 points and 30 rebounds, while Seuell had 13 points. Gutierrez had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
After losing in the semi- finals in 2017, Galpin said she heard other teams begin to say that Immanuel could not win without Zoe March.
March, who now is the sophomore starting point guard at Azusa Pacific Uni- versity, was the catalyst in the Eagles four straight section title wins.
That fact that was not lost on Galpin.
“A lot of people were say-
ing Immanuel is only good as long as Zoe [March] was here,” Galpin said. “After we lost last year in the semifinals people believed it. This year, it feels good to prove them wrong.”
For Gutierrez, ending her senior year at Selland Arena was more than she could have dreamed.
“It is my senior year and I got to win another one with my best friend, Ava,” Gutier- rez said. “After losing last year to get back here was amazing. We are where we deserve to be.”
Gutierrez also said win- ning a title also keeps Im- manuel High School's prestige alive.
“It shows the hard work we put in has paid off. We wanted to win this to live up to the legacy that has been set here,” Gutierrez said. “We have to keep up the Immanuel name.”
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