‘She had her game face on.’ Mariposa star delivers big-time playoff performance.
There is no safety net when you get to this point of the basketball season. The next loss will be the last high school game for seniors.
Mariposa’s Milea Appling didn’t have the look of a player ready to turn in her uniform.
The Grizzlies senior showed why she’s definitely in the conversation for one of the best girls basketball players to ever play at Mariposa on Tuesday night, delivering 31 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead No. 6 seed Mariposa (26-2) to a 54-48 win over No. 11 West Valley in the first round of the Northern California Division V playoffs.
“Absolutely amazing,” said Mariposa coach Trace DeSandres of his star. “She never ceases to amaze me. She had her game face on tonight. She was ready to go.”
DeSandres was worried about a letdown after the Grizzlies fell short in their bid to win a Sac-Joaquin Section championship with their loss to Argonaut on Saturday at the Golden I Center in Sacramento.
It can be tough to rebound for some teams and refocus their energy into the NorCal playoffs.
“Yeah, it felt like we had a little hangover, if you want to call it that, yesterday at practice,” DeSandres said. “We weren’t down, but the energy level wasn’t as high as it’s been. But, tonight there was a spur in their step. We played with so much more confidence.”
The Grizzlies never trailed in the game and West Valley only managed to tie them twice at 2-2 and 16-16 in the first quarter. Mariposa led the rest of the way.
“I think that’s driving all of us seniors,” said Appling, who reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season. “We want to push this season as long as we can. We came out tough tonight. We had some rough spells, but we were able to pull it out.”
The Grizzlies extended the lead to as much as 46-31 early in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles (17-15) made a run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 48-44 with 1:55 left in the game.
Appling and Alex Williams helped to close the game out. Williams finished with 13 points to go along with four blocks.
The Grizzlies will travel to No. 3 Caruthers on Thursday for a quarterfinal matchup.
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 10:51 PM.
