SELMA – Still trying to shake off their last loss to Central East, the Immanuel girls had everything set up perfectly to get back into the victory column. And with perfection in the Tri-County-Kings Canyon still on the line, the Eagles had to be aware of a potential upset special against a struggling Selma squad.
Fortunately, Immanuel showed little to no rust from their last game as the shots fell in their favor in a confident 87-20 victory against the Bears at the Selma High Gym on Feb. 4. With only two games left on their regular season schedule, the Eagles (22-4/6-0) flew back into the victory column — and more importantly, they managed to stay one wing in front of the pack in a crowded TCKC.
The Eagles wasted no time returning to their brand of basketball against a Bears team that, entering this game, had lost eight in a row. And even though the Eagles obliterated Selma 80-5 in their previous meeting on Jan. 15, Immanuel’s head coach Loren LeBeau’s team didn’t take them lightly.
“It really doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re trying to prepare the same way we prepare for Selma as we would for Central, as we would for Sierra Pacific,” said LeBeau.
When Immanuel opened the game on a 9-0 run, it felt like it was one of those nights for Selma. And before Selma knew it, a 23-6 lead at the end of the first quarter looked rather ominous. The Bears managed to tack on a few more points, but in the end, their uphill climb proved too steep.
“One thing I was really proud of, and I just mentioned it to them in pregame, was how they responded in practice on Monday and Tuesday,” said LeBeau. “There was no heads down, it was just right back to work.”
Sophomore guard Kiera Thomas, who recently crossed into the 1,000 career point realm, once again led the Eagles charge on the court. Whether coming up with clutch steals or open layups off of turnovers in transition, Thomas proved why she’s become one of the most important cogs in a well-oiled Immanuel machine.
“Yeah, Kiera is different, she has different qualities about her. Extremely hard worker, very competitive, first in everything,” said LeBeau. “It’s very nice when one of your better players is one of your hardest workers.”
With a solid, bounce back performance, Immanuel returns to their winning ways. And more importantly, with just two games left to play in the regular season, the Eagles are staring straight at an outright TCKC Title. Last season, Immanuel had to share that honor with Sierra Pacific.
“We know what’s at stake, we know the playoffs are right around the corner,” said LeBeau. “We just want to continue to improve.”
Immanuel concludes regular season play at home against Hanford West on Feb. 11.
