Golden Valley girls finish unbeaten in CCC basketball

All season long, Golden Valley High School’s girls basketball team seems to have come up with an answer when it’s needed.

On Tuesday night against Merced, it came at the end of the third quarter.

The Bears ran off seven consecutive points to cut the Cougars’ lead to five. Golden Valley came out of a timeout and closed the quarter with an 11-1 run to seal the game.

The Cougars wrapped up a second consecutive undefeated run through the Central California Conference with a 59-40 win on Vince Clemons Court. The victory extended Golden Valley’s overall winning streak to 13 and its conference winning streak to 20.

“We knew (Merced) wasn’t going to go away,” said Golden Valley coach Matt Thissen, whose team finished the regular season with a 23-4 record overall and 10-0 in the CCC. “We just had to make sure to weather the storm, and when we got an opportunity to counter, we had to make sure we did.”

The Cougars killed the Bears on the boards, and that spurred the late third-quarter run. Abbee Croninger (13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks) scored on two putbacks, and Naomi Peterson scored on another offensive rebound to extend the lead to 42-30.

Stephanie Moore then delivered the dagger with a fade-away three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cougars a 45-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“It’s kind of the same thing that happened last time against them,” said Merced senior Lexi Thompson, who led all scorers with 15 points. “We know what happens when we don’t capitalize and they go on a run. We’re really good in spurts, but then things go down from there.”

The Bears (16-11, 4-6) staggered through the first half and were fortunate just to be trailing by 10 after shooting 7 for 27 from the field.

Merced’s big threat in the third quarter was led by three seniors playing their final game for the Bears. Jordan Pierce nailed a three-pointer to cut the Cougars’ lead to 32-22. Thompson then scored in transition and hit a three-pointer. Symone Gilliam followed with a basket that forced Golden Valley to call a time out with its lead trimmed to 34-29.

The Cougars answered with their run and didn’t let the Bears back into the game.

“At the end of the game, you come to the realization that your high school basketball career is over,” Thompson said. “I was soaking it in for the last time. It was a big part of me, and it’s hard to let it go.”

Golden Valley will now wait until at least Feb. 19 before opening the playoffs.

There were good signs from Tuesday’s victory heading into the playoffs. With Moore (16 points) not scoring big points early in the game, other players like Peterson (12), Croninger and Delia Moore (nine points) picked up the slack.

“Delia is getting more confidence in her knee, which leads to more confidence in her game,” Thissen said. “She works so stinking hard that anytime she has success I’m happy for her because I know how hard she’s worked.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Golden Valley girls finish unbeaten in CCC basketball."