Sequoia girls see fairytale season come to end

In the end, Sequoia (20-8 overall) saw two of its best players — junior forward Soana Afu and freshman guard Caitlin Dulsky — foul out in the fourth quarter. And the No. 2-seed Cherokees fell 52-39 to No. 6 Silver Creek in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals.

“We couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” Sequoia head coach Steve Picchi said. “Sequoia had a fairytale season and now these kids get to look forward. The bar’s been risen high so now we need to maintain and go above it. So, we’ve got a great future.”

It was a game that was tightly officiated from the start. Silver Creek (16-11) saw one two of its top players in foul trouble as well, including sophomore center Bella Samatua, who also fouled out in the fourth.

“When you play as athletic as some of their kids who were driving, it’s tough to do what you would normally do and not foul,” Picchi said. “We had to be a little better than that.”

The difference for the Raiders, though, was an exceptional defensive effort from junior guard Leilani Augmon, who went for 11 points, a game-high nine rebounds and produced a clutch steal last in the third quarter.

“They definitely did show up today,” said Talita Falepapalangi, a Sequoia sophomore forward who had to anchor the post alone with her rebounding partner Afu sitting for so many minutes. “I think we’re all impressed with what they brought. But I think we could have showed up tonight. Tonight we didn’t play our game.”

Sequoia’s normally 3-point intensive offense was crippled by Dulsky sitting so many minutes due to foul trouble. The freshman hit three 3s in the first half, accounting for all of her nine points.

“Caitlin is a kid who, if you leave her open, there’s a good chance she’s going to hit a 3,” Picchi said. “So to not have her out there does hurt. But I thought other kids stepped in and contributed, and we actually took the lead.”

The game came down to an intense back-and-forth at the start of the fourth quarter. Augmon his an long-range running jumper off a steal with two minutes left in the third to give the Raiders a 32-29 lead. But then the seesaw battle ensued in the fourth.

Afu got into the game to start the fourth for two key rebounds and a sweet left-handed post-up to close it to 32-31. Then a pair of free throws by Falepapalangi gave the Cherokees the lead at 33-32. Silver Creek sophomore Molly Erezo nailed a 3 to take the lead back at 35-33. Sequoia went back up on a 3 by senior Mia Woo.

But then Silver Creek went on a 15-1 run, started by a 3 by junior Xiana Torres. The Raiders knocked down six 3s in the game, three coming in the final period.

The 13-point differential of the final score was less than the number of free throws the Cherokees missed, who shot 9 of 23 from the stripe. Problematic?

“Tonight, obviously,” Picchi said. “But what are you going to do? You go up there and you take the best shot you can. Naturally I would have liked to make 70 percent of our free throws. That might have been the difference. But I’d rather reflect on the season — 20-8.”

Division III

No. 1 South City 62, No. 5 Soquel 40

The Warriors came into their own Wednesday with a dominating win over the Knights in a Division III semifinal game at Aptos High School.

Playing without PAL North Player of the Year Brittney Cedeno, who injured her ankle in practice Tuesday, South City (25-4) got 11 points from her understudy Alex Salise.

Jerlene Miller led the Warriors with a double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Kayla Jew also had 11 points in the victory, while Becca Tasi and Neveah Miller each chipped in with eight points.

South City will now face No. 2 Aptos (25-3) in the Division III championship game Saturday at a time and place to be determined. Aptos advanced with a 61-47 win over No. 6 Saratoga.

This will be the Warriors second CCS finals appearance in three years. They lost to Sartoga 55-46 in the 2016 DIII title game.