Argonaut pressure too much for Mariposa in title game. What’s next for Grizzlies?
Milea Appling wanted to bring a section championship back to Mariposa in the worst way.
It would have been the exclamation mark on a remarkable high school career for the Grizzlies senior who has scored over 2,000 points during her four years wearing a Grizzly uniform. More importantly a blue section banner would have been a great retirement gift for Mariposa coach Tres DeSandres after 23 years as a Grizzlies head coach.
So you can imagine her disappointment after Mariposa’s 71-58 loss to Argonaut at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday morning.
“I’m happy that we all got to play together,” said Appling as she tried to fight back tears. “We deserved to be here. It’s sad because I think we could have beat that team. Hopefully we’ll get another shot in the state playoffs. Hopefully we’ll see them again.”
Appling finished with 20 points, 21 rebounds and seven steals, but struggled as the Grizzlies primary ball-handler against Argonaut’s all-out, relentless pressure throughout the game.
The pressure applied by the Mustangs (23-8) frustrated the Grizzlies from the opening tip. Argonaut dictated the tempo, pace and made sure to turn the game into a full-court affair to help negate the Mariposa height advantage.
“We didn’t help each other out,” Appling said. “We didn’t come back to the ball. There were times when I had three girls on me. We figured it out and did a better job late in the game, but we hadn’t been pressed like that since the preseason.”
The Mustangs forced Mariposa into 40 turnovers against a Grizzlies team that averaged just 11 turnovers during the season.
“We don’t respond to pressure well,” said Mariposa coach Trace DeSandres, who coached in his first section championship game. “When people zone us we’re a lot better. I watched a lot of film on Argonaut and I’ve never seen them shoot that way.”
Shooting in a spacious NBA arena didn’t seem to affect the Mustangs, who made eight 3-pointers.
The tide turned for the Grizzlies in a second quarter that saw Argonaut outscore Mariposa 20 to 10 to take a 32-20 lead into intermission. Mariposa turned the ball over 22 times in the first quarter. The Grizzlies’ problems were compounded with three starters - Taylor Vegely, Katie Vick and Alex Williams - all picking up three fouls in the first half.
“(Argonaut) kept subbing five for five players or they brought in four players at a time,” DeSandres said. “We tried to sub when they subbed, but I can’t bring in five players. The bottom line is if No. 23 (Appling) isn’t on the floor we’re done and there were a couple times she had to come out because you could see she was gassed.”
Sophia Davis led four Argonaut players in double-figures with 17 points. Chanelle Carney added 12 points and Gabbie Gascon chipped in with 11 points.
The Grizzlies managed to cut a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to 59-52 with 2:37 left, but couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
Lily Heavner scored 13 of her 19 points in the second half and finished with 12 rebounds for Mariposa. Despite playing most of the game through foul trouble, Williams added 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
The silver lining for Mariposa (25-2) is its season isn’t over. The Grizzlies still have the Northern California Regional Playoffs awaiting next week and with their record will likely earn at least one home game.
While the Grizzlies still have new life in the NorCal playoffs, they do know the next loss will be the last for Appling, and DeSandres.
“It’s a pretty crazy experience, an amazing experience,” Appling said of playing a game in the Sacramento Kings’ arena. “I’m glad I got to play a game here with my team with most of the girls I’ve played with since middle school. I wouldn’t want to be here with any other team.”
The experience of finally coaching in a section championship game will be a lifelong memory for DeSandres.
“It was everything I imagined and more,” DeSandres said. “I’m going to miss this. I’m going to miss this group of girls. It’s going to be strange not going to the gym every day, but we’re not done yet. I am going to treasure this a lot.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 3:11 PM.
