Second-Half Burst Sparks Lady Dragons past Titans

Annie Studdert scored 17 points and Ellie Ceja grabbed 17 rebounds to spark a second-half turnaround and lift the Sonoma Valley High girls basketball team to a, 50-43, win over visiting Hercules in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division III tournament.

The Lady Dragons trailed, 28-25, at halftime. Studdert, a star junior, picked up her fourth foul just seconds into the third quarter. Still, Sonoma Valley’s defense stifled the Titans and took a lead in a game that was tied eight times in the final 11 minutes. 

“We just had to get out and contest every 3-point shot,” Ceja said, after pouring in 13 points and watching Hercules connect on five 3-pointers in the first half. “We didn’t contest them at the start. We played much better defense and we rebounded in the second half.” 

Junior Karly Burningham brought a vocal Sonoma Valley crowd to its feet when she took a pass from Studdert and drained a 3-pointer to give the Lady Dragons a 48-43 with 1 minute, 32 seconds to play.

“Karly’s shot was really clutch,” said Sonoma Valley head coach Sil Coccia. “We’re not a great shooting team, but in the second half tonight we hit big shots. There wasn’t a bigger shot than Karly’s.”

 Eighth-seeded Sonoma Valley improved to 17-11 and earns the right to visit No. 1 seed Bishop O’Dowd (18-7) in Oakland at 7 p.m. on Friday night. Hercules is eliminated from the tournament with with a 17-10 mark.

Studdert picked up her third foul of the game over three minutes left in the second quarter. That, on top of Hercules raining 3’s in the first 16 minutes, troubled but did not panic the Lady Dragons.

“Annie just had to play smarter,” Coccia said. “Especially when she picked up her fourth foul, she had to pick her spots. We made her more of a helper on defense. She wound up defending their least threatening scorer around the basket and that actually put her in better position to rebound.”

Studdert actually sparked what became the game-winning run in the second half after picking up her fourth foul. She put back a missed shot to cut the Hercules lead to 31-29, then scored after a Ceja rebound to tie the game.

Krysta Young, who scored 13 points in a big first half, scored from the baseline for Sonoma Valley to tie the game 33-33 before Studdert grabbed an offensive rebound, took one dribble and powered one home to give the Lady Dragons a 35-33 lead with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

Sonoma Valley’s defense and rebounding held Hercules to one shot through the roller coaster ride in the third and early fourth quarters. And, the Titans did not connect on a single 3-point shot in the final 13:47 of the game.

“At halftime, we just stressed that we had to get out and contest the 3-point shot all the way to their shooters. We wanted to keep pressure on them defensively, because we thought the pressure would wear them down. We did a great job rebounding. Ceja’s not very big, but had the 17 rebounds. We just hit the boards and made sure they only got one shot on every possession.”

Jersey Witous made two free throws late in the third quarter. Then, she stole a pass and went the length of the court to give Sonoma Valley a 39-37 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Ceja had two hoops and three defensive rebounds as the relentless Lady Dragons built a 43-39 lead, but the Titans tied with 2:38 remaining.

Studdert took a give-and-go pass from Ceja to drive and score to give Sonoma Valley a 45-43 lead with 2:26 to play. After the teams exchanged turnovers, Burningham hit the back-breaking 3-pointer for the winners.

Studdert’s play while just one foul from elimination from the game sparked the Lady Dragons.

“I’ve played with three fouls before. I wasn’t that worried about fouling out,” she said. “I had to be more cautious in some situations. But, the whole team came together and played really well in the second half. We boxed out and rebounded and played defense.”