Sequoia in the zone

Second-seeded Sequoia used that lockdown “D” to slowly suffocate defending DI one champ Silver Creek, 44-21, and advance to the first CCS title game in school history Saturday.

The Cherokees will be at top-seeded Palo Alto at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Vikings pulled away in the fourth quarter to top the Bears.

“We just came out and did what we wanted to do. We wanted to keep [the Raiders] on the outside,” said Sequoia head coach Steve Picchi.

Not only did Sequoia (24-4) keep Silver Creek (22-4) on the outside, the Cherokees didn’t allow the Raiders inside, either. And in the second quarter, Sequoia kept Silver out of the basket and off the scoreboard as the Cherokees pitched a shut out in the second to lead 19-7 at halftime.

It didn’t get much better for the Raiders in the second half, finishing with eight points in the third and six in the fourth as the Cherokees snapped Silver Creek’s 21-game winning streak.

“We were so prepared,” Picchi said. “We play defense with great intensity. [Shutting down opposing offenses is] what we hope [our defense] does.”

Specifically, the Cherokees wanted to keep Silver Creek’s Leilani Augmon on the perimeter. Recognizing the Raiders as one of the top teams in CCS, Picchi had done some advanced scouting and he knew he didn’t want Augmon picking up a head of steam in the open court.

So with Alexis Jackson and Jacqueline Kurland staying in front of Augmon on the perimeter and the Cherokees’ twin towers of Soana Afu and Talita Falepapalangi anchoring the back line, the Raiders could not shoot over the zone or attack it off the dribble and finished with a 7-for-42 shooting night from the floor.

The Sequoia offense did the rest and like they have done all season, the Cherokees used a team effort. In the first half, it was Falepapalangi who carried the offense as she scored all 11 of her points in the first half. She accounted for eight of her team’s first 12 points and was nearly unstoppable around the basket.

Or even away from the basket, as she drained Sequoia’s only 3-pointer of the first half when, after corralling a loose ball, she heaved up a blind, turnaround jumper that connected just as the halftime buzzer sounded.

In the third quarter, it was Afu who came alive after getting into early foul trouble. In the fourth, Jackson, who has made a name for herself defensively with quick hands, showed some offensive game as she scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter, with her 3-pointer giving the Cherokees a 36-15 advantage with 6:10 to play.

But there were energy-creating spurts from others along the way. Pafuti Lealamanua scored a couple of crucial baskets in the first half as she filled in for Afu.

“[Lealamanua] stepped up big time,” Picchi said.

In the third quarter, Kaitlin Dulsky knocked down a pair of jumpers, including a 3, while also grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.

The teams combined for just 13 first-quarter points and it looked as if the Raiders might have grabbed some momentum going into the second quarter when Kennedy Ventura drained a long jumper at the horn for a 7-6 Silver Creek lead.

The quarter break must have cooled off the Raiders, however, as it was Sequoia who broke from the gate first. Falepapalangi opened the second with a nice dribble-drive from the high post and finishing with a layup. She followed that with a putback and Kurland added a pair of free throws and the Cherokees had the lead for good, 12-7.

Lealamanua followed with back-to-back buckets, mirroring Falepapalangi with a putback and score off the dribble. Falepapalangi’s 3 at the buzzer capped a 13-0 quarter for the Cherokees.

Sequoia outscored the Raiders 9-8 in the third before finishing the game with a flourish in the fourth. The Cherokees scored the first eight points to push their lead to 21, 36-15 as they outscored the Raiders 16-6 over the final eight minutes.

Silver Creek, meanwhile, went six-and-a-half minutes without a point in the fourth, until Augmon connected on the second of two free throws with 3:30 left in the game.

The Raiders Tianna Ngo connected on their only 3-pointers with just over two minutes to go.

“I believe defense wins games,” Picchi said. “To me, offense is experimental, in a way. Forty-fifty percent on offense is great. Forty-fifty percent on defense is horrible.”