Valley College stuns Santa Ana on the road in the first round of playoffs

The Lady Monarchs squeaked out the major upset victory to advance to the second round for the first time since the 22-23 season.

By Holdenn Graff, Sports Editor

Valley Sophomore Gizelle Moreno scans the court while she navigates defensive pressure from Santa Ana guard Kiki Graham. (Alejandro Rafael for The Valley Star)

Back in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, the women’s basketball team stunned the Santa Ana Dons on Wednesday night, 46-42, earning them a second-round battle against eight-seeded Cerro Corso on Saturday.

The Monarchs (14-14), who headed into the tournament as the 24-seed and the final squad to make the bracket, matched up against a nine-seeded Santa Ana (20-8) that finished the regular season placing third in their conference. Valley went 8-6 in conference, finishing in fifth place. The Dons rode a 4-1 stretch into Wednesday’s battle, shooting 40% from the field and 32% from three-point range across the five games.

It was not an ideal start for Valley, as they quickly found themselves in a 10-2 hole. They shot a mere 3-16 in the first, going 0-5 from beyond the arch as they headed to the second down double digits at 16-6. The Monarchs showed improvement in the second quarter by tightening their defense, limiting the Dons to a 3-19 quarter from the field. Valley took the second quarter 11-7 as they headed into the locker room at half trailing 23-17.

Heading into the third quarter, it became clear that head coach Monica Hang's message for her players at halftime was well received. Valley appeared as a new team, executing on both ends of the floor as a 14-5 run helped propel them to their first lead of the ballgame

The defense was aggressive, holding the Dons to a 1-13 shooting performance and forcing three turnovers. It was a massive quarter for sophomore Samantha Maldonado, who dropped 6 of her 13 total in the game as she shot 3-5 in the frame. The Monarchs, with new life, clung to a 31-28 lead as they headed to the fourth.

The final ten minutes were a true roller coaster, with the season on the line for the two adversaries. In the highest-scoring quarter of the game for the Monarchs, sophomore guard Gizelle Moreno rose to the occasion. She delivered five of her ten points on the night in the frame, including one of just two three-pointers that Valley made all game long. The squad managed to grab their most significant contest lead at 42-34 with 2:44 remaining as guard Laila Salazar knocked down a big baseline jumper for her only points of the night.

Santa Ana, however, managed to claw their way back into things with an 8-2 run in response. The Dons cut the Monarchs' lead to 44-42 with 14.9 seconds remaining before Maldonado and Valley committed a critical turnover on a five-second violation. Santa Ana took over for one final possession, where a potential game-winning three from guard Kendrah Lopez could not find the net as Valley secured the game-sealing rebound with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock. A pair of free throws from sophomore Madison Guerrero officially iced the game as the Monarchs pulled out the shocking victory.

Despite shooting 29.6% from the field and committing 21 turnovers, Valley’s defense was good enough to pick up the slack. They held Santa Ana to a 24.2% shooting performance, allowing just 19 second-half points. 

The Monarchs will now gear up for eight-seeded Cerro Corso Coyotes next in the SoCal regional playoffs on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cerro Corso College.

Guard Madison Guerrero sinks a free throw for the Monarchs against the Dons. (Alejandro Rafael for The Valley Star)