Santa Rosa Junior College men’s and women’s teams fall in playoffs

The Bear Cubs women lost in overtime, while the men were downed by a buzzer-beater in the CCCAA regional playoffs.|

The seasons for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Santa Rosa Junior College came to heartbreaking ends on Thursday in the first round of the California Community College Athletic Association regional playoffs.

Against Merced, the women battled back from an 11-point deficit, sending the game to overtime with an 18-9 fourth quarter but were outscored 9-4 in the extra period in a 67-62 loss.

Even more brutal, the men lost 66-65 to Los Medanos on a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

The men’s team took their first lead of the game late in the second half at 58-57 before scoring the next seven points to open up an eight-point lead with just under four minutes left to play. But Los Medanos closed on a 9-0 run, capped by a tough contested three from the left side of the arc that hit nothing but net as the final buzzer sounded.

“I thought our guys played really hard and competed,” said head coach Craig McMillan. “Played really good defense in the second half.”

Shannon Ferguson had 22 points, Garrett Siebels added 14 and Ed Turner finished with 12. The Bear Cubs end the season at 19-10 overall.

For the women, who finish the year 18-10, head coach Lacey Campbell was proud of how her team battled on Thursday, just like they had done over a tumultuous regular season navigating through constant COVID interruptions.

“Could not be prouder of this group,” Campbell said. “They kind of helped bring this program back to relevance and back to the state playoffs. … They fought through a lot this year.”

Montgomery grads Trinity Hawkins and Ashleigh Barr led the way as they have all season. Hawkins had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds while Barr had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

VVAL releases all-league soccer teams

Casa Grande’s boys and girls were well-represented in the Vine Valley Athletic League all-league soccer teams that were unveiled earlier this week.

Headlining the group were seniors Nico Rahman and Taylor Ingram, who were named league MVPs for the boys’ and girls’ sides, respectively. Gauchos’ senior Alexis Garcia was also named the boys Offensive Player of the Year and Petaluma senior goalkeeper Silvana Sessi was named the girls Defensive Player of the Year.

In total the Casa Grande boys, who tied Vintage atop the league standings, had six all-league selections. Joining Rahman and Garcia on the first team were seniors Yahir De Leon and Mason Holbrook. Sophomore Hayden Holbrook and senior goalkeeper Bryan Gutiérrez made the second team.

Sonoma Valley had three all-league selections. Seniors Oscar Fernandez and Aidan Griggs received first-team honors while senior Joey Fiorito was named to the second team.

Petaluma’s Leo Deeik made the first team as the Trojans’ lone all-league selection.

The Casa Grande girls, who won the league title this year, also had six all-league players. On the first team with Ingram were seniors Mallory Jones and Jordan Ekelhoff as well as sophomore Heather Mahoney. Junior Katie Hancock and sophomore Gabby Gotshall made the second team.

Petaluma wasn’t far behind with five selections. Sister Megan and Natalia Efhan, a senior and freshman, respectively, both joined Sessi on the first team. Seniors Katrina Rodrigues and Hailey Barry were named to the second team.

For Sonoma Valley, senior Caroline Studdert and junior Lauren Johnston were first-team selections while senior Bella Brophy made the second team.

North Central League basketball all-league teams

Boys

NCL I

MVP

Dylan Muller, Sr., Cloverdale

First Team

Brody Breedon, Sr., Middletown

Cole Ketchum, Sr., Middletown

Luke Hoogendoorn, Sr., Middletown

Ethan Maize, Sr., Clear Lake

Gabe Wlodarczyk, Sr., Cloverdale

Joe Faso, Sr., Cloverdale

Will Meyer, Jr., St. Helena

Second Team

Lucas DaCosta, Sr., Middletown

Zane Robinson, Sr., Clear Lake

Caden Axell, Jr., Cloverdale

Charlie Knight, Jr., St. Helena

Honorable Mention

Shaun Stockley, Jr., Willits

Leandro Sanchez, Sr., Roseland University Prep

Luke Watkins, Sr., Kelseyville

Rhett Bennett, Sr., Ft. Bragg

Mason Barnes, Sr., Lower Lake

NCL I

Girls

Co-MVP

Paige Astley, Sr., Middletown

Jacie Clavelle, Sr., Ft. Bragg

First Team

Jaidyn Brown, Jr., Middletown

Mia Hoogendoorn, Fr., Middletown

Lucy Hendricks, Sr., Ft. Bragg

Maddie Triplett, Jr., Ft. Bragg

Sydney Howe, Sr., Clear Lake

Second Team

Montana Robles, Jr., Ft. Bragg

Lily Barrett, Sr., Willits

Skylar Williams, Jr., Middletown

Summer Lands, Sr., Cloverdale

Sierra Bruch, Jr., Clear Lake

Honorable Mention

Kiley Rose, Sr., Willits

Linsey Arellano, Sr., Roseland University Prep

Sofia Cupp, Jr., St. Helena

Larue Furlani, Sr., Kelseyville

Margarita Cordova, Sr., Lower Lake

NCL II

Boys

MVP

Cayden Thompson, Sr., Tech

First Team

Kobe Brown, Jr., Tech

Matt Henry, Jr., Tech

Kai Young, Sr., Upper Lake

Peyton Stroud, Jr., Sonoma Academy

Oliver Abrams, Sr., Credo

Devin Jermon, Sr., Credo

Second Team

Christian Caldera, Sr., Calistoga

Maxim Saschin, Sr., Tech

Sammy Avelos, Jr., Upper Lake

Ryan Johnson, Sr., Tomales

Edrei Diaz, Sr., Roseland Collegiate Prep

Aaron Knuth, Sr., Sonoma Academy

Sebastian Leuschen, Jr., Credo

Honorable Mention

Jose Perez, Jr., Calistoga

Noel Gutierrez, So., Tomales

Jose Medina, Sr., Roseland Collegiate Prep

NCL II

Girls

Co-MVP

Zoey Petrie, Sr., Upper Lake

Heaven’Lee Loans Arrow, Jr., Upper Lake

First Team

Taylar Minnis, Jr., Upper Lake

Maddy Young, Jr., Upper Lake

Ellie Stearn, Fr., Sonoma Academy

Lael Gott, Jr., Sonoma Academy

Harriet Reed, Sr., Credo

Orieanna Vincent, Sr., Credo

Bella Rodriguez, Sr., Tomales

Alexa Pantoja, Sr., Tomales

Second Team

Madison Noble, Jr., Upper Lake

Alysse Bennett, Sr., Tech

Shea McCauley, Sr., Sonoma Academy

Lhasa Gray, Sr., Credo

Diana Padilla, Sr., Tomales

Honorable Mention

Liliana Cruz, Jr., Calistoga

Courtney Kroyer, Jr., Tech

Jesenia Banuelos, Jr., Roseland Collegiate Prep

Victoria Robles, Jr., Roseland Collegiate Prep

NCL III

Boys

MVP

Jason Martinez, Sr., Round Valley

First Team

Sunny Varisano, Jr., Mendocino

Devon Hawkins, Sr., Mendocino

Kirby Magana, Sr., Round Valley

Robert Whipple, So., Round Valley

Fernando Lopez, Fr., Point Arena

Second Team

Yoel Ephraim, Jr., Mendocino

Russell Fansier, Jr., Potter Valley

Raymond Taylor, Jr., Laytonville

William Hutt, Sr., Round Valley

Dauki Bechtol, So., Point Arena

Honorable Mention

Charles Jones, Sr., Mendocino

Raul Gonzalez, Jr., Potter Valley

Daniel Garibay, Sr., Anderson Valley

Xander Hill, Sr., Laytonville

Jordan Hawkins, Sr., Round Valley

NCL III

Girls

MVP

Stevie Lundquist, So., Mendocino

First Team

Kaya Deluca, Jr., Mendocino

Ella Casey, Jr., Mendocino

Samantha Wood, Fr., Potter Valley

Brianna Ferrerya, Sr., Anderson Valley

Lidia Sanchez, Sr., Anderson Valley

Second Team

Mealii Parker-Akau, So., Mendocino

Jaqui Gutierrez, So., Potter Valley

Gibelli Guerrero-Jimenez, Jr., Anderson Valley

Samanda Marquez, Jr., Point Arena

Patricia Whipple, Sr., Round Valley

Honorable Mention

Sage Starkweather, Fr., Mendocino

Mason Kelly, Sr., Laytonville

Lucy Espinoza, So., Anderson Valley

Hattie Piper, Fr., Point Arena

Carmen Davila, Jr., Round Valley

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.

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