JURUPA VALLEY – The streak ended Saturday night, stopped cold by an opposing press that contested every shot, harrassed every pass, and poked at every dribble.
Sonora raced to an early 15-point lead and handed Patriot of Jurupa Valley its first loss of the season in the CIF-SS Division 3AA semifinals with a 59-34 victory.
The Raiders will compete for the Division 3AA title next week against top-seeded Orange Lutheran, a 39-23 victor over Lakeside.
Sonora forced 27 turnovers.
“(We press) almost everybody,” Sonora coach Melissa Barajas said. “We try to. Our best defense is our best offense.
“We really wanted to take them out of what they wanted to do. So we really wanted to take them out of what they wanted to do.”
Second-seeded Patriot (31-1) could still land an at-large berth into the state tournament when pairings are released March 6.
“We’ve been extra blessed this season,” Patriot coach John Hill said. “Thirty-one wins, and with everyone healthy, it’s been invigorating and a source of pride in the community. Tonight – that was just a great basketball team, and they did what they had to do.”
Sonora pressed Patriot ferociously from the start, forcing 11 first-quarter turnovers while bolting out to a 26-11 lead. The Warriors rallied back, getting to within five late in the third quarter before Sonora (27-3) scored 15 consecutive points to put things out of reach.
Sonora shot 10 of 18 in the first quarter , including 6 of 9 on 3-pointers, and though Patriot defended well the rest of the way, holding the Raiders to a 10-of-38 clip in the last three frames, the early hole was too much.
“I felt like we came out a little shaky,” said Patriot senior forward Darria Hewitt, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. “We didn’t run our stuff. We started the game late.”
Sonora’s Meghan Hernandez led the Raiders with 14 points and seven rebounds, including three 3s in the first quarter. Elizabeth Yoshitake scored 11 points, and Marissa Dunn and Jasmine Shedd added 10 points apiece.
Patriot looked as if it might have an improbable rally in store in the third quarter when Hewitt hit a putback and added a score off an inbounds pass to close the deficit to 31-26. But the Raiders held the Warriors without a field goal for the next nine minutes.
