SALINAS VALLEY — With a win in the second round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs, the Soledad girls’ basketball team was the only local team to reach the quarterfinals.
The Aztecs earned the No. 5 seed and beat No. 12 seed North Monterey County, 49-31, on Saturday to advance in the playoffs. North County defeated King City, 54-40, in the first round of play.
Justina Botello led Soledad with 11 points, and teammates Jessica Morales and Amy Amaro were in double figures in scoring with 10 points apiece.
Interim coach Kevin Pena has been pleased with his team’s performance the last few games.
“On Saturday, we had a good team win and the girls came out with a lot of energy,” Pena said. “We stayed composed and focused on the details of our game plan. They have done well doing new concepts I have been implementing.”
On Tuesday night, Soledad traveled to San Jose to battle No. 4 seed Pioneer and needed a win to advance to Thursday’s semifinals. The Aztecs lost 49-43, ending their season.
At the King City girls’ game with North County, Alizah Carrillo led the Mustangs with 13 points, while teammate Amity Hearne scored eight points and collected 12 rebounds.
“Our girls worked really hard all year to make the playoffs,” said King City head coach Angel Trujillo. “Although we lost, I’m really proud of how hard they fought until the very end.”
Trujillo praised Jocelyn Romero for the work she did guarding the other teams’ best player every night even though she didn’t always show up in the box score. According to Trujillo, Romero’s impact was felt in “every game.”
The Greenfield girls participated in the CCS Division III bracket and lost by a 53-32 score to Live Oak last Friday night. Aleena Salas led the Bruins in scoring with 14 points, and Lesley Santiago grabbed 10 rebounds and scored five points.
“As my first-year coaching varsity, it was a great learning experience,” said Greenfield coach Elizabeth Gonzales. “Our players worked hard this season.”
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
The Soledad boys played two games in the CCS Division III playoffs, winning at home last Friday in overtime to the Live Oak Acorns, 55-54, and losing the following night to host El Camino by a 52-47 score.
In the Live Oak game, Pedro Morales led the Aztecs with 24 points and Pablo Morales scored 17 points. Anikan Tavarez led Soledad with 10 rebounds and Anthony Medina added seven boards.
“Anthony Medina was super clutch in overtime with Live Oak,” said Soledad head coach Nick Twitchell. “He had a total of five points in overtime, including the winning points on a layup with 10 seconds to play. The game with El Camino was a high-level game and was a close one as we had the lead in the fourth quarter.”
Pedro Morales scored 16 points against El Camino to lead the Aztecs in scoring and Pablo Morales scored 13 points. Tavarez contributed with seven points.
The Greenfield boys played in the opening round of Division III playoffs and lost 67-62 against host North Monterey County in Castroville last Friday night.
“It was a hard-fought game in which we led three different times in the game,” said Greenfield head coach Mark Hadden. “It was a game of runs with North County having the last run to win.”
Naythen Hernandez was the high-point scorer for the Bruins with 21 points, while Johnny Miranda had 18 points and Chris Morris added 10 points.
King City boys did not make the playoffs this year, and ended their season with a 4-17 overall record (3-9 league).
