The JV Lady Broncs pose with the trophy after winning the Trona Tournament over the holiday break. Submitted photo.
The Lady Broncs JV girls’ basketball team trying to stay active, competed in the Trona Tournament during the holiday break. They would claim three wins and be crowned the champions. The tournament would end in an interesting way. But in the end the Team from Kern Valley had earned the rightful place of being the champions in the tournament.
It started off with a matchup with the host team Trona. It was a battle as the final score was 41-34 The difference came in the fourth quarter as the Lady Broncs wore down Trona with pressure defense that allowed them to break free in the points department. Leading the way for Kern Valley was Taylor Kristy with 15 points. She was followed by Hazel Kiosef and Sam Ruiz with eight points apiece. Amber McAhren added four points for the Lady Broncs. Finishing with two points apiece were Brooke Gibson, Kaylee Ellis, and Peyton Mental. McAhren led the team in assists with three. Kiosef, Mental, and Ruiz each had one assist.
Turning to the defense, McAhren was the top rebounder for Kern Valley. She pulled down 15 rebounds. Kiosef grabbed seven boards, while Ruiz had five rebounds. Bobbie Pruitt had four boards to help out in rebounding. Gibson, Ellis, and Alissa Webster each had three rebounds. Kristy was credited with a pair of rebounds to wrap up the board work. Ellis and Kiosef shared the team lead in swatting away shot attempts by Trona. They each had three blocks in the contest. McAhren recorded one block for Kern Valley.
McAhren completed her double-double in the matchup with Trona by getting credit for 12 steals. Ruiz ended with nine steals, while Kiosef had seven. Zoe Perfect had five steals, while Kristy had four. Pruitt collected a pair of steals, while Gibson, Mental, and Webster each had one steal for the Lady Broncs.
Game two saw a familiar square off with Bishop. These two teams are considered rivals and always play the game like it means something. This contest was no different as they battled right to the end. Bishop jumped out to the early lead as they scored 14 points. The Lady Broncs managed to keep it close by dropping in nine points. The second quarter made the difference as Kern Valley turned up the defensive heat. They allowed their opponent just four points. The Lady Broncs poured in 14 points to take the 23-18 lead into intermission.
Coming out of the break it was back to the two teams matching baskets. Kern Valley increased their margin as they out scored Bishop 12-10 to make the score 35-28 as the third quarter ended. The seven-point lead would hold up as Bishop could only hold the 12-9 advantage in the final quarter. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Broncs had come away with the victory. The final score was 44-40 pushing Kern Valley further along.
This was when things got interesting. The Lady Broncs would face off with Lone Pine in game three. Lone Pine had only five total players that showed up. At the end of the first quarter, Lone Pine lost two players to injury and they played the game with three, Kern Valley, showing great sportsmanship split the team into groups of three players. The Lady Broncs rotated them against Lone Pine so the game could continue. The game was officially called a Kern Valey win at halftime. By claiming three games, the Lady Broncs were declared the champions. Kiosef was named the tournament MVP, while Kristy, Ruiz, and McAhren were selected to the All-Tournament Team.
This past week, with Desert and Frazier Mountain unable to field JV teams, Kern Valley was able to scrape together a game against Golden Valley. They would travel to Bakersfield to get the chance for the Lady Broncs to get some court time. They would come away with the 20-6 victory.
Kern Valley scoring: Kristy 9, McAhren 4, Ruiz 4, Kiosef 2, Gibson 1. Assists: Ruiz 2. Rebounding: McAhren 6, Gibson 5, Perfect 5, Webster 4, Ellis 3, Kiosef 3, Pruitt 3, Kristy 1, Ruiz 1. Blocks: Ellis 3, Kiosef 1, Perfect 1. Steals: Kristy 5, McAhren 4, Perfect 2, Ruiz 2, Gibson 1, Mental 1, Pruitt 1.
With these four wins the Lady Broncs have played a total of 10 games. They currently have a record of 9-1.
