Boys basketball, girls soccer off to play top division seeds this week in the second round
UPDATE: The Santa Ynez High boys basketball and girls soccer teams were eliminated in the second round from their respective CIF Central Section playoffs on Wednesday night, Feb. 19. The boys basketball team lost 61-43 to North High in Bakersfield in Division III. The girls soccer team fell 4-1 at Santa Maria High, also in Division III. In both cases, the SYHS teams lost to the top seeds in the division. The SYHS girls basketball team won their second-round matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 18. For the story on that, go to santaynezvalleystar.com/santa-ynez-girls-basketball-beats-coalinga-moves-into-cif-division-iv-semifinals/
Santa Ynez High winter sports teams had a successful weekend to start the CIF Central Section postseason on Feb. 14 and 15, as the girls basketball, girls soccer and boys basketball squads all earned first-round wins.
Pirates boys hoops gets by Lemoore
After winning the Sunset League with a perfect 8-0 record, the Santa Ynez boys hoopsters earned an eighth seed in Division III and hosted No. 9 Lemoore in its first-round game on Feb. 15.
The Pirates rode a strong fourth period to a 55-52 win over the Tigers for their 11th straight win. The game was a tight one through the first three quarters as SYHS held a 37-36 lead going into the last period. In the fourth, the Pirates rallied to open up as much as a 10-point lead before a late Lemoore run made it close at the end.
Jude Pritchard, the Pirates’ top scorer for the season at 15.9 points per game, put in a team-high 17 points against Lemoore, while Jaydon Mendoza added 11. Lucas Ollenburger, who had a key three-pointer in the fourth period of the playoff game, ended up with 8 points and 7 rebounds, while Ikenna Ofiaeli had 9 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.
“It was a heck of a matchup,” head coach Rod Caughell said about the contest. “I was concerned going in because they’re strengths tend to be our weaknesses, but we were able to break their press, and hit some big 3’s to pull it out.”
The Pirates now get an even bigger test in the second round, facing No. 1 seed Bakersfield North on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The Stars finished 24-6 and placed second in the South Yosemite Mountain League with a 24-6 record. Game time in Bakersfield is 6 p.m.
Girls hoops handles Pioneer Valley
The Santa Ynez High girls basketball team, after finishing third in the Sunset League with a 5-5 record (15-10 overall), earned the No. 2 seed in the Division IV bracket and in its first-round game on Friday, Feb. 14, defeated nearby No. 15 seed Pioneer Valley 52-33.
The Lady Pirates defeated the Jaguars from Santa Maria with a balanced attack, as Kailani Ladera scored a team-high 11 points, along with 8 rebounds, and Lexi Molera added 10 points and 5 steals. Helina Pecile totaled 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals, while Elena Sleiman pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.
“The girls came out strong tonight,” said head coach Jennifer Rasmussen, whose team made it to the second round of the postseason for the third straight year.
SYHS will return to the Pirate gym Tuesday, Feb. 18, for its next game, against No. 7 seed Coalinga at 5 p.m. Coalinga, known as the Horned Toads, finished 24-5 with an 8-2 record (second place) in the West Sierra League.
Girls soccer overpowers Sierra Pacific
The Santa Ynez High girls soccer team finished the regular season with a 7-9-2 record and 2-5-1 in the Sunset League, placing third. The Lady Pirates were one of four Sunset team to be placed in the Division III bracket.
In its first-round game, the No. 8 seed Pirates excelled with a 4-0 victory over No. 9 Sierra Pacific of Hanford on Saturday, Feb. 15, at SYHS.
Ella Gotschall, Grace Vazquez, Isabella Rubio, and Hannah Ricci scored for SYHS.
“Everything just came together tonight,” said head coach Rob Cantrell. “We’re good at generating opportunities, but we’ve haven’t finished them in recent games. Tonight, we did.”
The win moves the Lady Pirates to a second-round matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 19, with a familiar opponent — Sunset League rival and No. 1 seed Santa Maria. The Saints won the league with a 7-1 record, and were an impressive 20-2-2 record overall. The Saints have beaten the Pirates twice this season, 5-1 decision in Santa Maria, and 3-1 at Santa Ynez earlier this month.
“They’re going to be tough, and they’re definitely a No. 1, but I don’t worry about seeds, we just play whoever comes against us,” Cantrell said. “They handled us pretty well at their place, but we played them pretty tough in our second match, so you never know.”
Game time Wednesday at Santa Maria High will be 6 p.m.
Boys soccer finishes second in Sunset League
The SYHS boys soccer team ended its season with a 2-1 loss to Lompoc, with Jackson Elliott tallying to lone Pirate goal.
The Pirates finished with a 3-3-2 record in the Sunset League, placing second, and a 5-12-3 record overall. They did not receive a postseason berth.
For the season, Elliott was the top scorer with 7 goals and 14 points. Marcos Rivera tallied 6 goals with an assist for 13 points, and Evan Ellason had 3 goals and a team-high 3 assists for 9 points. In goal, Diego Medina had an 0.863 goals against average.
