Stockdale rallies past Independence for 21st straight win
BY STEPHEN LYNCH Special to The Californian
Stockdale girls basketball co-coaches Glenn Hager and Charles Stewart told their team to expect a tough challenge early in its game Friday night.
And the Mustangs certainly got one.
Related Photos
IHS vs. Stockdale GIRLS B-ball Stockdale's #21 Juliah Kim struggles over a lose ball with #25 Jazzmin Sanders and #11 Khiylah Dean the 2nd during the 2nd half at Independence High School.
IHS vs. Stockdale GIRLS B-ball #3 Vanessa Mancera of Independence gets bent out of shape trying to go for two against Stockdale's #20 Nakia Page and #34 Asia Cooks.
IHS vs. Stockdale GIRLS B-ball Hannah Llach #43 of Stockdale and #10 Teale Stacey of Independence try to recover a rebound during 1st half of the game.
IHS vs. Stockdale GIRLS B-ball Stockdale's #1 Alyssa Shannon tries dribble past Independence's #5 Jade Gridiron.
Stockdale fell behind by 10 in the first quarter before rallying for a 58-50 road win over Southwest Yosemite League rival Independence.
Alyssa Shannon had 21 points for the Mustangs (24-3, 10-0 SWYL), who won their 21st straight and clinched the league title in the process.
"We have three main goals every single year that we set: Winning our tournament, winning league, and winning valley," Stewart said. "We've hit two of our goals. So obviously it's very high on our level of importance for our program to win league. Obviously, we're very excited about that."
Independence (22-5, 8-2) came into the contest just one game out of first place in the SWYL and could have earned a share of the league championship with a win.
"It's just real tough to beat somebody three times, especially a team like this," Hager said. "They're very well-coached. They're an excellent team. And to have to come in a third time and have to play them at their house, it's tough."
Vanessa Mancera had 21 points and five steals for Independence, which started the game 6-of-8 from the floor and jumped out to a 14-4 lead.
Stockdale missed its first five field-goal attempts, but was able to withstand the early storm and cut the deficit to six by the end of the first quarter.
The game's only lead change came as the Mustangs went on a 20-3 run that began midway through the second quarter and lasted until Mancera hit two free throws a minute into the second half.
Shannon keyed the game-changing spurt with an array of layups, short floaters, and dazzling passes for assists.
Shannon credited teamwork for the comeback.
"It was defense, playing aggressive and just believing that we could get the win."
Despite making only one field goal in the second quarter and three in the third, Independence fought back from a double-digit hole of its own to pull within four on Jazzmin Sanders' layup with 5:40 left.
But that was as close as the Falcons would get.
"We're not intimidated," Independence coach Val Mancera said. "They're a very good team. We know that. But our girls we're pretty darn good ourselves. When we had that quick start we knew that they would make a run."
Just as Hager and Stewart knew that Independence come out fired at the start the game.
"We just told them they had to weather the knock-out punch, and to our credit, our kids battled back," Hager said.
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