DINUBA – Everything was set up for the Dinuba Emperors to emerge triumphant against Hoover as they headed into the locker room with a hard-fought lead. But instead, the Emperors’ rule toppled.
Coming out of the first half with a 22-16 lead, a third quarter highlighted by turnovers and frenetic ultimately spelled doom for the #4 seed Emperors in their Central Section D III Quarterfinals matchup against the #5 seed Patriots. Unable to recover, Dinuba’s kingdom crumbled to the foundation against Hoover’s rally in their 46-36 loss at The New Dinuba Gym on Feb. 18.
“At halftime, it looked like we were controlling the pace of the game and controlling the scoring, playing pretty good defense and slowing them down,” said Dinuba assistant coach Gil Gonzalez. “They came out in the third quarter and started hitting shots – and they just couldn’t miss.”
In the opening of that decisive third quarter, the Patriots stormed Dinuba’s castle fast and hard with a 7-2 run that pulled them to 24-23. And as Hoover started to chip away at Dinuba’s once comfortable lead, heads shook and frustrations started to mount. Hoover’s shooting tandem of Taylor Sysongkham and Laila Mobley kept the nets scorching with their open look threes, turning a halftime deficit into a 32-26 lead.
“It’s tough to win games when they’re making all their shots and you’re not – but yeah, our girls got a little excited, forced some turnovers, and we just couldn’t recover,” said Gonzalez.
With Dinuba all of a sudden looking up at the score, one of their best hopes for a comeback remained contained and cold with her offense. Junior guard Samantha Gonzalez, who scored 15 points against the Patriots during their previous meeting on Dec. 18, couldn’t get her shots to fall. Gonzalez was held to just 5 points.
“They pretty much keyed her the whole game, and kind of spied her a little bit, and kind of kept her away from the ball, and it was a lot harder for her to get her shot off,” said Gonzalez. “So, she was trying to create shots and force shots that she normally wouldn’t take.”
With Gonzalez stuck in a rut, Dinuba’s Peyton Acevedo stepped up her game. Acevedo literally hit the floor for every loose shot, second chance point and rebound needed to get the Emps’ back in the game. But even with Acevedo at her best, Dinuba eventually wore down at the end.
“Peyton’s an awesome defensive player; she takes charges every night … and she’s ready to go because she takes a beating at every game,” said Gonzalez. “She’s one of our strongholds there in the paint; she’s not the tallest player, but she plays pretty big.”
And with that, the loss has ended Dinuba’s (22-8) season.
“You know, it was a hard fight, and we knew it was going to be a tough matchup,” said Gonzalez. “When it’s a tight game like that, losing the turnover battle is not going to end well for us, and that’s what happened tonight.”
Here’s a quick rundown of scores of some other teams in the Mid Valley Times and The Sun-Gazette coverage areas that also played in quarterfinals action:
D I
#1 Clovis def. #9 Redwood 67-31
#3 Caruthers def. #6 Mission Oak 59-43D II
#4 Monache def. #5 Orcutt Academy 52-28
D III
#1 Immanuel (Reedley) def. #8 Sierra 61-34
#3 Morro Bay def. #6 Porterville 37-25D IV
#3 Tulare Union def. #6 Templeton 38-31
D V
#1 Coalinga def. #8 Sanger West 45-36
D VI
#3 Exeter def. #11 Orosi 48-30
#7 Fowler def. #2 Summit Charter Collegiate Academy 49-39
