The Lady Broncs varsity basketball squad poses with the championship plaques at the Summit Tournament. Jessie Bunting was named the Tournament MVP, while Ava Elliott was selected to the All-Tournament team. Submitted Photo.
Kern Valley goes undefeated at Thanksgiving Tournament
The Kern Valley varsity girls’ basketball team can be thankful as they were the best team in the Summit Tournament played Nov. 25-27. They would go undefeated in claiming the championship plaque.
The Lady Broncs tuned up their season competing in the Summit Tournament. They would square off with the host school in the championship contest. Kern Valley started fast and never looked back in collecting the 54-34 victory that gave them the tournament title. To open the game, the Lady Broncs went on a 9-0 run to give them a cushion. They would add nine more points in the quarter and take the 18-5 lead after one. It was more of the same in the second as the defense limited their opponents scoring and the offense poured in the points. When the buzzer sounded to end the first half, Kern Valley was comfortably ahead 31-12.
Coming out of the break, the Lady breaks continued the winning strategy in the second half. The offense worked the ball around. They allowed all the players to get a touch and the points kept dropping. The defense would also do their part as the clamped down. They allowed just nine points to Summit as the third quarter came to an end. The scoreboard read Kern Valley 43 – Summit 21. With the game well in hand the Lady Broncs closed out their championship run by scoring 11 more points. The horn sounded and Kern Valley raised their hands in victory.
Jessie Bunting led the for the Lady Broncs way as she poured in 25 points. Jayda Bushling followed by contributing 13 points, while Ava Elliott scored seven points. Elli Jeans added three points, while Leenah Troller, Ashley Plante, and Jade Montes each had two points to close out the scoring for Kern Valley. Bunting was chairman-of-the-boards as she completed her double-double by grabbing a team-high 16 rebounds. Elliot pulled down 13 boards, while Bushling had nine rebounds to just miss a double-double. Troller was credited with eight boards, while Jeans had three rebounds. Scarlet Russell capped the rebounding effort with two.
Bushling handed out five assists to lead the Lady Broncs in unselfish play. Jeans had three assists, while Elliott had a pair of assists. Russell finished with one assist. Leading the way in steals for the Lady Broncs were Elliott and Bushling. Both recorded with seven steals. Plante was credited with two steals. In the tournament, Bunting was named the MVP, while Elliott was selected to the All-Tournament team.
Kern Valley head coach Bill Gallis said, “It was a great tournament for us to build team bonding and develop cohesiveness. The returners stepped up and showed the newcomers what playing Kern Valley basketball is all about. Overall, I liked our aggressiveness and willingness to sacrifice on the court. It was great to get everyone involved and continue to develop roles on the team. With each passing day, I feel the team is becoming a close-knit group capable of playing at a high level. Our ability to adapt has always been one of our strengths, and that was evident in our play this week. I want to see us continue to grow and communicate on the court, but overall, I was pleased with our effort and commitment to one another. We have a big week coming up, and everyone will need to be at their best for us to compete.”
Some of the Lady Broncs added their thoughts to the tournament. Elli Jeans said, “I think the tournament was a good chance to stay in shape over the Thanksgiving break and get the feel for game-like situations to help our younger players.” Bushling added, “While we were playing in the tournament, I noticed that we really clicked as a team. It didn’t matter who was on the court; we all played well together.”
Getting to the championship game, the Lady Broncs had to compete in pool play first. They would collect a pair of wins in pool play to push them right into the championship game. Their initial opponent was the Delano Lady Tigers. Kern Valley took control and dominated their opponent with the decisive 46-10 win. The offense was rolling as they scored the first 11 points of the quarter. The defense limited their opponents to zero points. Kern Valley added 12 points in the second before the Lady Tigers were able to get on the board. The half ended with the Lady Broncs holding a 34-6 lead. The second half was more of the same and game one was an easy win for Kern Valley.
Scoring: Bunting 12, Bushling 12, Jeans 8, Elliott 7, Plante 4, Montes 3. Rebounds: Elliott 7, Bunting 6, Jeans 3, Montes 3, Troller 2, Emmalyn Bechtel 2. Assists: Bushling 3, Jeans 2, Troller 1. Steals: Plante 6, Bushling 5, Bunting 4, Elliott 4, Jeans 2, Troller 1, Bechtel 1.
The second game in pool play was against Granite Hills. They would prove no match for the Lady Broncs as the tournament game plan was executed perfectly. The offense dropping in points and the defense playing relentless. The final score of 53-25 showed how dominating Kern Valley was in this game. It was another quick start for the Lady Broncs as they began with an 11-0 run. Granite Hills managed just two points in the first quarter. The lead was 18-2 at the end of the first quarter. Another 10-2 run, and the halftime margin was 28-4 for the Lady Broncs. The second half moved along in the same manner and the contest was a no-doubter. With this win, Kern Valley moved straight to the championship contest.
Scoring: Bushling 12, Jeans 8, Elliott 8, Naomi Tapia 7, Bunting 6, Montes 4, Troller 3, Plante 3, Bechtel 2. Rebounding: Elliott 12, Bushling 6, Bunting 5, Montes 4, Troller 3, Jeans 3, Bechtel 3, Russell 3, McKayla Bachman 3. Assists: Bushling 4, Tapia 3, Plante 1. Steals: Bushling 6, Elliott 5, Troller 4, Jeans 2, Bunting 2.
Currently the Lady Broncs sit at 4-0 and an early HDL match up with Mammoth was played on Monday. Today through Saturday Kern Valley will go on the road to compete in the Corcoran Tournament.
