The Cloverdale Lady Eagles are breathing rarified air this week as they continue an historic basketball season that has landed the team in the CIF Nor Cal State Championship Tournament for the first time since 2002.
At press time the sixth seeded Eagles (24-7) were preparing to host number 11 Mariposa County (21-8) in an opening round match-up on Wednesday, Mar. 9, with the survivor slated to visit number three ranked Woodside Priory on Saturday, Mar. 12 (time and location TBD). Should the Eagles advance further, they will likely face top seeded Eastside College Prep in the Regional semifinals on Mar. 15.
“It should be a good game,” CHS coach Rick Berry predicted. “We like the fact that it’s at home.”
The complete list of CIF Nor Cal tournament teams in seeding order is; Eastside College Prep, St. Joseph Notre Dame, Woodside Priory, Urban, Capital Christian, Cloverdale, Mount Shasta, Argonaut, University Prep, Ripon Christian, Mariposa County and Durham.
For updated Nor Cal bracket information check the CIF website at www.cifstate.org.
Eagles fall to Urban
The Lady Eagles qualified for Nor Cals by virtue of a top-four finish in the North Coast Section Division-5 playoffs, scoring opening round and quarterfinal wins over Bentley (55-28) and College Prep (46-42) respectively.
The victories set up a semifinal home clash with third-seeded Urban on Mar. 2, a game played before a packed house exploding with every basket.
The game could not have started worse for the Eagles, who weathered a frigid first half in converting just three of 23 shots from the field. Urban used its distinct size advantage to race to a 25-12 halftime advantage.
Cloverdale did not panic, utilizing the firepower of senior Angel Bernardi (9 points) and increased defensive intensity in a resurgent third quarter to cut the deficit to 35-29 at the end of three.
The Eagles continued their furious comeback in the fourth quarter, riding the hot hand of Camryn Figueroa to stay within six at 52-46 with just over a minute to play. It was as close as Cloverdale would get the rest of the way as Urban hung on for a 58-51 victory.
“Our slow start was just too much to overcome,” Berry noted. “The girls played hard and never quit, I was very proud of their effort.”
Bernardi turned in a sensational performance with a team-high 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Other good efforts were had by Figueroa (8 points, all in the fourth quarter, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal), Teanne Edens (7 points, 8 boards), Ale Perez (5 points, 2 rebounds), Karsyn Stewart (5 points, 5 rebounds), Bailey Stewart (4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal) and Jaedyn Jenkins (1 rebound).
