Imperial Tigers dream season comes to an end at the CIF State Championships
The Imperial girls basketball team takes a tough loss to the Branson Bulls at the Golden 1 Center.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Imperial High School girls basketball team had a historic run this season but unfortunately did not take home the CIF State Championship trophy.
Although it wasn't the outcome they wanted, this year's Imperial girl's basketball team has done something that no other team in the Imperial Valley has done since 1988.
The last team to make it this far was the Calipatria High boys team that lost in overtime of their state final in 1988.
The Tigers are the first girls basketball team from the Imperial Valley to win a Southern California Regional Championship, let alone make it to the state championship game.
The Southern Regional Champion's from Imperial Valley and Branson, the Northern Regional Champions, led off the CIF state championship games today in the home of the Sacramento Kings.
Early in the first quarter, bulls work a pass down low to junior Hannah Golan which put Branson on the board first.
Imperial came out strong and confident in the first quarter battling back.
Tigers sophomore Georgia Gomez finds junior Sierra Morris in the paint. Morris with the short jumper and ties the game at two.
Imperial was down twice by four but came back to tie the game 8-8 by the end of the quarter.
Branson turned on the heat and went on a 14-0 scoring run in the second quarter as Imperial could not make a basket making the score 22-8. Imperial never recovered.
At half, Coach Rich Ponchione had some words for his Imperial girls.
"This isn't us. You have a chance. You have an opportunity to get back in this game but it has to be third quarter. It has to be now," Ponchione said.
Imperial never had the chance to catch up with Branson having their best scoring run of 24 pts in the third quarter. Imperial only scored six pts.
With many turnovers and unable to find the net, Imperial let down and lost to Branson by a 23 pt deficit and the final score ending up to be 46-23.
Even though Imperial left with a second place trophy, smiles were still shown on the faces of the Tigers.
"Not many girls that came from the valley can say they've been in this position, we worked really hard, I feel we deserve it and we still have next year," Morris said.
Ponchione is beyond proud of his team and how far they've come.
"Just to see them grow as a team, tight knit, to go that far away and accomplish victories, was really nice to see," Ponchione said.
After traveling over 1,500 miles throughout their journey of the state playoffs, Imperial High School leaves a legacy for the Imperial Valley.
Despite the outcome, it was an impressive run by the tigers and a great way to represent the valley.
