The Valley Chronicle - Lady Bulldogs slay the Knightsng

Hemet High beat Shadow Hills in round one of CIF Girls Basketball Playoffs, 63 - 44

[caption id="attachment_9234" align="alignright" width="576"] Photo by Corey Evan / The Valley Chronicle
The Bulldogs take advantage of a timeout against Shadow Hills in last Thursday’s CIF playoff game.[/caption] ■ Corey Evan / Reporter In high school sports, the objective isn’t to win, but rather to participate and have a good time. For those teams who become league champs however, it is their favorite time. Hemet High School’s basketball girls, having gone 10-1 in the Mountain Pass League this season, earned the chance to face off against the Shadow Hills Knights at home last Thursday evening. Would the bright red dogs be able to outshine the purple armor that hailed from Indio? While Shadow Hills took the first point of the evening from a Bulldog foul, the Bulldogs would soon push ahead, taking in 15 points during first period. The Knights managed just 3. But the Knights wiped the dust off their shields and unleashed a bruising of their own on the Bulldogs during second period. They brought on the challenge and 21 points this time around, against Hemet’s 11 points. After the first half, Hemet was still ahead, albeit by a precarious 2-point margin. After taking ten minutes to recoup and rehydrate, Hemet reignited the heat under their paws and showed the Knights they were up for the challenge. In period three, the Bulldogs added 25 points to their score, against the Knights’ 10. The action didn’t slow down in the final period, as the Lady Bulldogs picked up another 12 over the Knights’ 10. With the Knights’ armor pierced and dulled, Hemet could move on in CIF playoffs. The final damage was 63-44. Topping off this Bulldog win were Mariah Sanchez who put 12 points in the basket, followed by Haley Suarez and Tyalaja Pride who each dropped in 11. Coach Isaac Heggins, while happy for his girls to make it this far in the playoffs, knows there are plenty of loose ends that need to be tightened. “Cleaning up the fouls,” he stressed. “Gotta clean up the fouls--working out the fouls, we’ll be in good shape. Can’t let teams beat us at the free-throw line.” Heggins would like to thank his Lady Bulldogs, his coaching staff, and his wife and family for the support they’ve lent in making this season as successful as it was. On behalf of the Valley Chronicle, congratulations to the Lady Bulldogs on slaying Shadow Hills for the second time in as many years! UPDATE: On Saturday February 17th, Hemet lost to Cerritos 43-29 thus ending their 2018 season. Interesting to note, that is exactly as far as they went last year in CIF under previous Bulldog Coach Joe Cortez. But as is the case, it was fun while it lasted. They still have the Mountain Pass League title!