Calipatria hits buzzer beater to sink Santa Fe Christian

Luna Cervantes sends Hornets to CIF D4 quarterfinals for showdown versus rival Central

CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KYMA, KECY-TV) - Going into this year's playoffs, a lot of questions surrounded the Calipatria Hornets girls basketball program.

First, the departure of head coach Michael Fong brought a little instability coming into the season.

However, school officials quickly promoted JV coach Isaiah Spence to lead the varsity program.

Then there was the added pressure of moving up in competition, elevating from Division-V to Division-IV. Still the Hornets would not be deterred as they would be able to post their first winning season since the 2018-19 campaign.

The Hornets looked to be one of the contenders going into the payoffs, but after back-to-back losses to league foes Palo Verde and Vincent Memorial, plus an unfavorable draw given to them by the San Diego Section matchmakers, Calipatria earned just a modest 7 seed in the Division-IV playoffs.

That would be good enough to host in the first round, but the low seed also presented them with an unexpected challenge coming in the form of the Santa Fe Christian Eagles.

On Wednesday night in Erickson Gymnasium, where the entire Calipatria community came out in full force to support their girls.

Early on, Jolie Quintana found Michelle Trejo down on the low block as the hornets do a little inside out action, finding Marcella Lyerly for the long range jumper.

The Hornets would again be on the attack as they work the ball around the court. Michelle Trejo finding a cutting Luna Cervantes for the layup. That would not be the last time we mention her name.

The Eagles would keep the game interesting as Piper Lenihan would find Alesea Haynes who uses a little hesitation to get past the Hornet defender for the bucket.

Another attack by the Eagles would be thwarted as Marcella Lyerly comes up with the huge block and steal and at the other end; Lyerly would find Cervantes with the friendly bounce to tie the game at 39 going into the 4th quarter.

Santa Fe Christian, who drained eight shots from long range, took the lead with under two minutes to go.

The Hornets would have the final possession with eight seconds to go finding Luna Cervantes for the win… GOOD! The basket would go down at the buzzer as the Hornets rushed the court to celebrate the nail biting 52-50 victory.

Luna Cervantes finished the game with 21 points. Michelle Trejo added 14 points with 10 rebounds and five assists; and Marcella Lyerly had herself a game with eight points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.

The Hornets (15-10) advance to the quarterfinals of the CIF Division-IV playoff where they will meet a familiar foe.

They will travel to El Centro to take on the Central Spartans (14-14). The game will be on Saturday, February 18th at 7 p.m.

Both the Hornets and Spartans competed in the same league last season before divisional realignment split up the two programs.

Both teams still competed twice on the hardwood this season. Central came away with the first win, 39-17, back on December 2nd at the I.V. Invitational Tournament in Holtville.

The Hornets would return the favor on the Spartans home court, beating them 32-30 on December 7th, snapping a nine-game losing streak in the series.