Matadors can’t catch Campisano-led Falcons
- Updated: February 27, 2016
The Matadors’ Amber Hard goes up for a rebound against Torrey Pines on Friday night. / photo by Ramon Scott
By James McHugh
© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (1-27-16) — Mount Miguel’s season didn’t end Friday night (Feb. 26), but hopes of a San Diego Section CIF title in the county’s toughest division were put to rest as the Matadors fell to Torrey Pines 65-58 on the road.
Torrey Pines’ senior forward Sierra Campisano filled up the stat sheet en route to the Matador’s exit from the winner’s bracket of the Open Division quarterfinals. The Oregon-bound senior finished the night with 31-points, 20-rebounds, seven blocks and a steal for the host Falcons.
Mount Miguel’s Satera Bates begins a drive on Friday night against host Torrey Pines in the San Diego CIF Open Division playoffs. / photo by Ramon Scott
Early on ROZLYN PIERCE did an excellent job defending Campisano as the other Falcons struggled to get going. Pierce had seven blocks on the night, four of those coming against the Falcons’ star. Pierce also contributed 11-rebounds on the night.
DESTINI ANDERSON led the scoring attack for Mount Miguel with 16-points on 5-of-10 shooting, but her defensive prowess was missed after picking up a third foul early in the second quarter. “That hurt us a lot,” coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL said after his team’s defeat. “Destini picking up her third early on like that changed a lot of things on defense.”
The Matadors attacked the basket relentlessly in the third but continuously failed to convert layups or draw fouls, leading to a string of easy transition baskets for the Falcons. With about 3:23 to play in the third it appeared Campisano had picked up her fourth foul, but Angelina Roque was whistled instead.
Two minutes later it appeared the Matadors had lured the Falcons’ senior into her fourth foul once again when Meghan Voss was awarded her first foul for Torrey Pines, much to the dismay of the Matador faithful.
By the time Campisano was assessed a technical foul in the fourth quarter, Mount Miguel seemed to have run out of steam. Shots weren’t falling and SATERA BATES tried, to no avail, to get a stalled Matadors offense on the move again. Bates finished the night with 15-points on 6-24 shooting from the floor and 4-5 conversions from the free throw line.
Mount Miguel players tie up the ball Friday night against the Falcons. / photo by Ramon Scott
Unlike in years past, the Matadors will not ride off into the sunset and think back on their season with fond memories, not just yet anyways. By qualifying for, and competing in, the county’s strongest division, the Matadors qualify for the state playoffs automatically. The Matadors will now focus on earning the highest seeding in the Southern California Regionals. Mount Miguel will host Westview next Wednesday (Mar. 2) at 7:00 pm. A win could boost the Matadors seeding and move them into a fourth place game against the winner of Serra/Poway.
“We had too many turnovers tonight (20), too many missed layups. So we’ll take the next few days to just re-focus, find ourselves again and get ready. These are winnable games coming up, so we’ll get it together and get ready to play,” Sandoval said of the road ahead for his Matador team.
Mount Miguel: Destini Anderson 16 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Satera Bates 15 (4 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast), Camara Douglas 12 (11 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Amber Hard 9 (8 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 1 ast), Rozlyn Pierce 2 (11 reb, 7 blk), Michelle Corley 2 (2 stl, 1 reb), Tiaja Bennett 2 (3 stl, 1 reb).
