Kern Valley takes consolation at McFarland Tournament
The Kern Valley JV basketball squad opened up the HDL season by romping past Bishop. The final score of 37-16 showed how dominating a victory it was against some who feel that Bishop is the Lady Broncs rival.
For three quarters the Lady Broncs were locked in a battle. Despite holding the edge, they could not shut down Bishop. The first quarter saw Kern Valley take the early 9-6 lead. When the buzzer sounded to end the first half, the Lady Broncs only held a seven-point cushion. The 18-11 score at the break favored the visiting Kern Valley team.
In the second half, the Lady Broncs began to put distance between themselves and their opponents. A 7-2 third quarter saw the lead extend to 25-13 as the defense took over. The final quarter was more of the same. The Lady Broncs defense smothering Bishop. When the horn sounded to put a close on the game, Kern Valley had added 12 points to their total. Bishop managed to score just three points to create the final 37-16 game.
Leading the way in scoring was Millie Bustamonte with 17 points. She would sink two from long distance. Sam Ruiz followed as she scored in double digits with 10 points. Taylor Kristi added six points, while Amber McAhren and Payton Mental each had two points. Ruiz led the team in assists with two. Kaylee Ellis recorded one assist for the Lady Broncs squad.
McAhren and Bustamonte shared the team lead in rebounds with six apiece. Kristy and Ellis each grabbed five rebounds, while Mental and Bobbie Pruitt pulled down three boards apiece. Brooke Gibson was credited with a pair of rebounds, while Hazel Kiosef had one rebound in the game. Ruiz was the leading thief foe the Lady Broncs as she was credited with seven steals to lead the team. McAhren recorded three steals, while Kristy and Bustamonte each had two steals. Collecting one steal in the game for the Lady Broncs were Ellis, Kiosef, Zoe Perfect, and Pruitt. Ellis was credited with two blocks in the contest.
Head coach Kenny Bushling said, “It was a tough, first league game in which the girls battled. It was our relentless defense that held Bishop.”
It was tournament time for the Lady Broncs after the successful HDL win. The Kern Valley JV squad went to McFarland to play. The games were two halves of 16 minutes with a running clock.
Game one saw the Lady fall short as they faced off with South, The Lady Rebels grabbed the halftime lead at 12-5. Kern Valley tried to make a comeback, but it fell short as they lost 18-12. This would drop Kern Valley into the consolation bracket for the tournament. Bustamonte was the leading scorer for the Lady Broncs. She had a team high five points, including a made three-pointer. Kristy finished with four points, while McAhren capped the scoring for Kern Valley with three points. Ruiz handed out a pair of assists to lead the team.
On the boards, Ellis was the monster as she grabbed 13 rebounds to lead her team. Pruitt grabbed four boards, while Kristy had three rebounds. McAhren and Kiosef each had a pair of rebounds, while Gibson and Ruiz each had one. Ellis recorded the lone block in the game. Pruitt had a pair of steals to lead the Lady Broncs. Gibson, Kristy, McAhren, Bustamonte, and Ruiz each had one steal.
Kern Valley would advance to the consolation championship as they took care of Corcoran, The Lady Broncs poured in 20 points and the defense allowed their opponents nine points for the 20-9 final score. It was a close game as the two teams went to the break. Kern Valley was holding the slim 10-6 margin. In the second half the defense really took over and allowed Corcoran just three more points the rest of the way.
Scoring: Kristy 8, Perfect 4, Ruiz 4, Ellis 2, Mental 2. Assists: McAhren 2, Bustamonte 2, Mental 1, Ruiz 1. Assists: McAhren 2, Bustamonte 2, Mental; 1, Ruiz 1. Rebounding: McAhren 9, Gibson 4, Kristy 3, Ellis 3, Pruitt 3, Perfect 2, Mental 2, Kiosef 1, Bustamonte 1, Ruiz 1, Alissa Webster 1. Steals: Kristy 4, Bustamonte 4, McAhren 2, Ruiz 2, Ellis 1, Kiosef 1, Mental 1, Pruitt 1.
In the Consolation title game, the two teams battled as the score remained close when they went to the break. When the first half ended the Lady Broncs were holding the slim 8-6 margin. In the second half it was all Kern Valley as the offense poured in 23 points. The defense did their job as they allowed West just six more points the rest of the way to come away with the 31-12 victory. This was balanced scoring effort by the Lady Broncs. Of the 12 players on the team 10 were able to record points in the game. The win gave the Lady Broncs some ‘consolation’ as they were crowned the Champions of the consolation bracket.
Scoring: Kristy 6, Ruiz 6, McAhren 4, Mental 4, Piper Connolly 3 (made three-pointer), Gibson 2, Kiosef 2, Bustamonte 2, Pruitt 2. Assists: McAhren 3, Bustamonte 2, Mental 2, Ruiz 2, Gibson 1, Ellis. Rebounding: McAhren 12, Pruitt 7, Ellis 5, Gibson 4, Ruiz 3, Perfect 2, Bustamonte 2, Connolly 1, Kristy 1, Mental 1. Blocks: Ellis 3. Steals: Kristy 5, McAhren 4, Bustamonte 4, Kiosef 2, Pruitt 2, Connolly 1, Ellis 1, Ruiz 1.
The Lady Broncs will close out the holiday season with a home game against Boron as they get back to playing league games. After that they will not play until Jan. 7.
