ARBUCKLE — Down by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, ninth-seeded East Union started the period on an 8-3 run and trailed host No. 8 Pierce by just two points with 18 seconds remaining thanks to a 3-pointer by Taylor Snaer.
The Lancers got the ball back trailing by three with 16 seconds remaining and had two shots to tie the game up but both were off the mark and the Bears escaped Natalie Corona Gym with a 55-52 first-round win in the Division IV California Interscholastic NorCal girls playoffs.
“We were down 10 points after three quarters tonight,” East Union coach Jim Agostini said. “And we made another good run in the fourth quarter with some good looks at the end. But we kind of made our mess in the first half.
“But every time this VOL championship team has gotten behind this year, we would compete. We got behind in a lot of money games late and made runs at the end to win games.”
Agostini knew he would have had his hands full with Jocelyn Medina. Coming into Tuesday night averaging 32.7 points for Pierce (27-3), Medina torched the Lancers for 35 points along with six rebounds and six steals.
“She is a good player,” Agostini said of Medina. “She was steady the whole night. We just didn’t do a good enough job defensively on her.
“Our defense got better in the second half. You just can’t give up 33 in the first half. That’s a lot of points.”
Medina made a steal and went coast to coast in the waning seconds of the third period to give the Bears a 10-point lead before East Union started the final quarter on that 10-3 run. But as they had been all night, the Lancers were snake bit from the free-throw line during that run, missing the front of two one-and-ones. East Union missed four fourth-period free throws and was just 13 of 26 from the charity stripe on the night.
“You can’t feel comfortable any time you are in the state playoffs,” Pierce coach Luis Davalos said. “We just have to set the tone.”
Of Medina, Davalos said, “She is an amazing player. What you see on the court – she is even better off the court. She goes 100 miles per hour for the whole day, non-stop.
“She is amazing. Anybody will be grateful to have her at the second level.”
Snaer paced the Lancers attack with 21 points and six steals with Nylah Dyson adding 17 points. East Union won the battle of the boards 36-25 with Donnese Payne (seven points, two blocks) grabbing 20 rebounds and Ava Barrera making nine rebounds.
The Bears now travel to San Anselmo on Thursday to face top-seeded San Domenico. On the other side of the bracket, although Kimball was swept in Valley Oak League play by league-champion East Union, somehow the Jaguars were seeded third – six above the Lancers – and squeaked by visiting No. 14 Mills of Millbrae with a 53-47 win on Tuesday and will get to host another playoff game on Thursday against sixth-seeded Hillsdale of San Mateo.
