Lompoc 32 Tulare Union 31
With two championship wins in the past 24 hours, the Lompoc women's basketball team held on at Selland Arena to win the Division IV Central Section Championship. Senior Cierra Bailey scored a team and game-high 13 points with her big time second half helping the Braves score when they needed it most.
With only two wins in their first eleven games, Head Coach Claudia Terrones had work to do with a group that had lost their confidence. From there, they climbed their way back into prominence winning eight in a row en route to a tight, gutsy win.
With less than 10-seconds left in the game and a 1-point lead, Tulare Union had to foul or force a steal on the inbounds. Darleth Felix stole the ball and was fouled on a shot attempt with just 3.8 seconds left. However, she would miss both and the Braves would escape with a championship.
"Resiliency," Terrones said about her team's season. "It's it's all about trust and when they started to trust themselves and know that somebody was going to be there and team chemistry started to happen, that's when I knew it was going to be special.”
Arroyo Grande 59 Porterville 30
Searching for it's first ever CIF Central Section Championship, the Arroyo Grande boys basketball team looked as disciplined as a team could be on the defensive end holding the Panthers to eight second half points.
Adam Silmon scored a game-high 17 points while his teammate Zach Soriano chipped in 15 of his own. The Eagles led 26-22 at the half before erupting in the third quarter thanks to the aforementioned Silmon and Soriano heating up offensively.
"Have confidence, scoring the ball, playing defense...honestly it just feels amazing leaving a legacy for this school," Silmon said.
"Tonight, I just felt like things kind of came together at the right time in that second half, and it just kind of took off," Head Coach Ryan Glanville added. "I couldn't be happier for our kids and for our high school. This is the first championship in boys basketball, so they're going down in history."
