Sonora girls basketball beat Downey in 2AA playoffs – Orange County Register

LA HABRA – Sonora’s women’s basketball team played as expected of a team that hadn’t played in 13 days.

Raiders are sometimes confusingly out of sync, sometimes even sloppy.

For the most part, though, Sonora played too well to win. The Raiders defeated Downey 47-33 on Wednesday in the second game of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA knockout.

The Raiders (20-6) will play at home at 7pm on Saturday against Crean Lutheran (March 21) in the quarterfinals.

Crean Lutheran beat Glendora 69-35 on Wednesday.

Sonora and Crean Lutheran have not competed against each other this season.

Sonora sophomore guard Kiana Graham scored a team-high 16. She makes three pointers 3.

Guard Jazmin Sheik got 12 points, including two 3s, and junior guards Mia Chavarin and Larissa Robles each scored seven points.

Downey (20-9) was led by junior striker Alexis Price, who scored 13 points. Sophomores Symantha Barnett and Genesis Salinas contributed six points each.

Sonora has not competed since beating Buena Park in a Freeway League game on February 3, the final day of the regular season. The Raiders say their goodbyes to round one before playing Downey on Wednesday.

Downey defeated Murrieta Mesa in the first round of Division 2AA on Saturday.

“We’re a little bit tired because we haven’t played for more than two weeks or something,” said Robles.

Sonora base point guard Larissa Robles talks Raiders 47-33 win over Downey in the game@CIFSS2AA second round@ocvarsityguyLIVE pic.twitter.com/dGnRpTRpyd

– Steve Fryer (@SteveFryer) February 17, 2022

Sonora, however, was cleaner in the first half as the game was decided. Downey made eight spins in the first quarter compared to Sonora’s two in the opening period after which Sonora had a 14-6 lead.

Downey’s nine extra spins in Q2 gave Sonora a 31-15 advantage at halftime.

Raiders coach Melissa Barajas liked her team’s energy and man-to-man defense, which gave the Raiders the lead.

“I loved our defensive effort,” said Barajas, “and I think we hit the ball hard and that allowed us to fix some mistakes in attack. We’re just trying to get our rhythm back.”

Downey, meanwhile, is trying to find the right combination. Vikings coach Nate Harris placed 12 different players on the field in the first half.

The Sonora spike at the start of the second quarter helped the Raiders firmly take control. Three pointers from Graham and Robles lead the way.

Alvin, Graham’s father, promised his daughter that he would buy her a chocolate shake if she scored 15 points or more. Her 16 points is good enough to earn the reward.