Tiger girls win their way to the final championship
The Portola High Tigers headed to Butte College on Feb. 29 to meet the Durham Trojans looking for a Northern Section championship. But before they took the court at Butte College the girls beat the Colusa Red Hawks (59-48) and the Biggs Wolverines (63-24) in playoffs.
Red Hawks fall
The Colusa team came to PHS on Feb. 25 and were shot out of the sky by the Tigers with the support of packed stands filled with excited and enthusiastic PHS Tiger fans.
The game started close with the Tigers picking up a small lead in the first quarter, 15-12.
“Portola jumped out to a 33-21 halftime lead and stretched that in the third quarter before Colusa came charging back,” said Portola head girls basketball coach Chip Wilson, “and cut that lead to 4.”
Portola scored 18 points to the Colusa 9 in the second period, but the Red Hawks actually outscored the Tigers by a point in the third quarter, 12-11 for a score of 44-33 heading into the final quarter.
The teams matched energy in the last eight minutes of the game. The Tigers had a fight on their hands.
“Annie Folchi hit two free throw shots, Margaret Canseco had a crucial 3-point play and Mya Wilson and Emily Sheridan each sank a 3-pointer to extend the lead and essentially put the game out of reach,” said coach Wilson.
The Red Hawks rally in the fourth quarter with just about four minutes left in the game brought the score as close as 44-40, trailing a little too closely to the Tiger tail for comfort, especially in a playoff game.
But the Portola girls stayed calm and steady. The PHS team downshifted and just motored on past their opponents with strong and steady play to widen the lead before the win was declared.
The fans were in strong support for the Tiger team from filled stands and stuck through to the end with their champions.
“It was huge having them behind us!” said coach Wilson. “Abby Klemesrud had probably her best game of the year, scoring 11 points and, along with Sophie Ward, playing great defense. Mikayla Segna also gave us some good minutes off the bench.”
Canseco scored a total of 20 points against the Red Hawks, Wilson and Klemesrud both scored 11 and Sheridan finished with 7. Wilson scored a total of three long shots, Folchi, Klemesrud and Sheridan all scored with a 3-pointer as well.
The CIF Northern Section semifinals win marked 16 victory games in a row for the mighty Portola ladies.
Tune in next week to read up on the stats of the final championship game Feb. 29 at Butte College where the Tigers met the Durham Eagles in the final battle for the Northern Section first place trophy.
Tigers 63, Biggs 24
Margaret Canseco led the Tigers on Feb. 20 in Portola with 19 points. Emily Sheridan scored 17, Mya Wilson landed 12, sophomore Mary Sheridan scored 7, Mikayla Segna 6 and Abby Klemesrud 2. In the mix, Wilson sank a pair of 3-pointers and the Sheridan girls, one senior and one sophomore, each landed a 3-pointer!
