Page 11 - Reedley Exponent 11-29-18 E-edition

B3 | Thursday, November 29, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com Prep Boys Basketball Tournaments
Preps Roundup
RHS girls
basketball
wins big
Staff Report
The Reedley High Pi- rates girls basketball team bounced back strong from a tough opening night loss, dominating the second half to drub the visiting Foot- hill High Trojans, 70-44, at RHS gym on Nov. 26.
Senior forward Clare McGahan paced Reedley with 18 points. Freshman guard Miah Paz scored 17 points while junior center Madison Haney added 11 points.
"Credit to Foothill for not giving up and keeping the game close throughout the first half," said RHS coach Matt Wilkinson, whose squad led 34-25 at the break. The Pirates came out strong in the third quarter and then lim- ited Foothill to just eight points in the final eight minutes.
Sophomore guard Jada Hurd led Foothill (0-1) with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Reedley (1-1) appeared well on its way to a season- opening victory at Kings- burg High on Nov. 20, lead- ing by 10 points after three quarters. But the Vikings rallied in the final period, outscoring RHS 14-2 down the stretch to pull out a 44- 42 victory.
Paz scored 17 points – including a trio of three- point baskets – and also had eight rebounds, six steals and two assists. Haney fin- ished with 13 points and six rebounds while McGahan
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Colleges
RC women rally past Hancock in basketball
Contributed, Staff Reports
Reedley College out- scored Allan Hancock Col- lege 34-18 in the second half on the way to a 57-44 non-conference victory in Reedley on Nov. 20.
I’man Conley led the winners with 21 points and 19 rebounds as Reedley im- proved to 4-2 on the season. Tonee Bland added five points and seven assists. Kristy Berry had four of Reedley ‘s nine third quar- ter points as both teams combined for only three field goals in the 10-minute period.
The Lady Tigers made 11 of 16 free throws in a 25-point final period. Con- ley finished with 11 fourth quarter points.
Reedley returns to ac- tion at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, in the old gym at the College of the Sequoias against Pasadena City Col- lege in the opening round of the 16-team COS Tourna- ment. The event continues through Sunday, Dec. 2.
The Tigers won't return home until Friday, Jan. 4, in a non-conference game against Bakersfield Col-
lege. Gutierrez scores 13 in Fresno Pacific
women's rout
Krystale Gutierrez scored a season and col- lege career-high 13 points
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Pirate boys look to press the issue
Tune up for own tourney with rout of Orange Cove
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley High Pirates boys basketball team has taken to pressing the issue as they look to improve on last year's 10-21 season.
The Pirates opened the 2018-19 campaign just be- fore Thanksgiving, utilizing a three-quarters to full-court trap to force numerous turn- overs in a 78-58 victory over the Orange Cove High Titans on Nov. 20 at RHS gym
Junior guard Augie Vil- larreal paced Reedley with 18 points, including a trio of three-point baskets. Senior guard Jordon Chavez scored
12 points — also hitting three treys — while senior point guard Anthony Figueroa chipped in with nine points five assists and eight steals.
"We have 17 guys on our roster. they all have a pretty solid skills set and we feel like we can really use our depth," said coach Travis Ferrell. "We have 12 players returning, and those guys reurning are able to experience that playoff win
we had last year."
That victory was an upset
over fifth seed Granite Hills High in Porterville. It marked the Pirates' first postseason win since they captured the section title in 2004.
"You could really see the light bulb click for the guys to understand the level of in- tensity that's required to be successful," said Ferrell.
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Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley High School boys basketball coach Travis Ferrell addressed his players during a timeout in the second quarter of the Pirates' 78-58 non-league victory over Orange Cove High School on Nov. 20. The Pirates open play in their own Reedley Tip-Off Classic at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29.
Section champ Eagle boys tip off season at TOC
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com'
The Immanuel High Eagles will have a new look, but still with some familiar faces, in their bid for a sixth consecutive Central Section bas- ketball title this winter.
The Eagles – who open the season at their own Tournament of Champions event on Thursday, Nov. 29, at IHS gym — no longer are led by the scoring prowess of guard Nate Kendricks, who now is playing for Fresno Pa- cific University. But the team still has leading veterans who helped power them to a 20-12 season in 2017-18.
"The three main guys we have back all have
the capability to give us 20 points in a game," said coach Chris Woods. Senior Kaleb Daglish, a 6-foot-6 forward-center, had 15 points and seven rebounds in the section-clinching victory over Sanger High last March. Senior guard Jordan Rodriguez added 11 points and nine boards in that game.
"Their having seen Nate step up and lead the way provided them an example, and they're ready to go," Woods said. Another key contribu- tor is sophomore swing player Shawn Rodgers, who scored nine points in a regional playoff loss to University High of Los Angeles.
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Fresno Pacific University
Fresno Pacific University senior Anthony Velarde, a Reedley High School prod- uct, was named this month to the All-West Region soccer team as selected by the Divi- sion II Conference Commis- sioners Association.
All-West
Region
honors to
Velarde
Contributed
Fresno Pacific mid- fielder and Reedley High School alumnus Anthony Velarde has been named as an All-West Region se- lection by the Division II Conference Commission- ers Association.
Velarde was named an All-PacWest Conference First Team selection ear- lier this fall after finishing near the top of the league leaderboard in a handful of categories. He was an- nounced as an All-Region selection on Nov. 14.
“For Anthony to have a target on his back from the beginning of the year and still be able to do what he did is a testament to his ability, and it could be ar- gued that he turned in the best statistical season in the country,” head coach Jaime Ramirez said. “He ranks among the top play-
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Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Emma Mulligan smiled Nov. 19 after she signed her national letter of intent to play softball at Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho.
College home for softball standout
Photo Contributed
Emma Mulligan played club softball for the Dirtdogs 18 Gold Softball Team. Mulligan has been a starting catcher for Reedley High for three seasons.
RHS' Emma Mulligan will attend Northwest Nazarene University
Contributed
Reedley High School senior Emma Mulligan has signed a na- tional letter of intent to play soft- ball starting in 2019-20 for the Nighthawks of Northwest Naza- rene University.
Mulligan was joined Nov. 19 by coaches, friends, and family at El Rincon restaurant in Reedley for dinner and a short ceremony that concluded with her signing the let- ter of intent for the athletic schol- arship to play for the private Chris- tian university in Nampa, Idaho.
To witness her official commit- ment and participate in the cele- bration, Mulligan was joined by her parents, Jim and Kristi Mulligan, and siblings, and other family, in- cluding her maternal and paternal
grandparents. Also in attendance were her high school and club team coaches, friends and Reedley High School Athletic Director Darren Minami.
“Being able to play softball and get my education is really a dream come true,” said Mulligan, who has started for three years as catcher
for the Pirates softball team. Emma plays club softball as a catcher/utility player for the Dirt- dogs 18 Gold Softball team. In ad- dition to her softball exploits, she is a four-year varsity player for the girls soccer team and a member of
the girls tennis team.
This year, Mulligan is serving
as Senior Class president for the school.
Northwest Nazarene University fields 13 Division II athletic teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). The university offers more than 60 areas of study, 18 master's degrees in seven dif- ferent disciplines and two doctoral degrees.
IMMANUEL TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
All games at Immanuel High School new gym
Thursday, Nov. 29
Game 1, Mt. Whitney vs. Kerman, 3 p.m.; Game 2, Lemoore vs. Bakersfield Christian, 4:30 p.m.; Game 3, Clovis vs. Kingsburg, 6 p.m.; Game 4, Mission Oak vs. Immanuel, 7:30 p.m.
G1-G2 losers, 3 p.m.; G3-G4 losers, 4:30 p.m.; G1-G2 winners, 6 p.m., G3-G4 winners, 7:30 p.m.
Seventh place, 10 a.m.; Consolation championship, 11:30 a.m.; Third place, 1 p.m.; Championship, 2:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 30
Saturday, Dec. 1