Sierra was minutes away from likely securing an at-large berth for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on Thursday.
The Timberwolves are now in wait-and-see mode following their heartbreaking 60-55 overtime loss to visiting Central Catholic in a Valley Oak League finale.
They went scoreless in the final 3:53 of regulation after Taylor Zalunardo scored on a breakaway layup off of a turnover to put the T’wolves up by nine.
Mia Cardoza made two free throws with 20 seconds left to send it to overtime, and the freshman knocked down two more in the final seconds of the extra period to secure the big win for Central Catholic (5-7 VOL, 10-14 overall).
Both teams were looking to solidify their positions for the postseason. Needing top-15 divisional rankings on Maxpreps to lock up their bids, Sierra (4-8, 9-14) came into the game at No. 11 in Division III, while the Raiders were 14th in Division IV.
The Timberwolves ended the regular season dropping six of their last seven.
“This one hurt,” Sierra coach Rudy Valencia said. “For some of these girls, this may be their last year and you always want to go out on top. We have to get back in the gym tomorrow and put in more work, and hopefully we make the playoffs.”
Brackets will be released on Saturday. Out-bracket games are set for next Monday, and the first round is on Tuesday.
One of two players honors on senior night, center Alison Cozby did all she could for the Timberwolves. She was effective all game operating out of the high post, leading all players with 19 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals.
“She’s taking it pretty hard,” Valencia said. “She’s our muscle. She’s kind of like that player-coach that you want to have out there. She fights hard, plays super tough and is a great kid.”
Fellow senior Taylor Zalunardo contributed five points and four assists in what is likely her final home game. Junior wing Janessa Barnes helped bring some energy on both ends of the court, amassing 11 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Tessa Zalunardo finished with eight points, all in the second half, and Emalina Latu added six points and nine rebounds.
Central Catholic had five double-digit scorers, getting 12 points each from Allie Abbate (seven rebounds, four steals) and Samantha Nichols. Macie Wright chipped in with 11 points, while Carsyn Lomeli-Garcia (13 rebounds, three assists) and Cardoza (12 rebounds, six steals) had 10 apiece.
The Raiders did well to make their late push after Nichols fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
“I think they just showed a tremendous amount of grit,” CC coach Alison Murata Nichols said. “They were feeling a little bit down after Samantha fouled out, but they just looked at each other and said, ‘we can do it.’ Everybody contributed to coming back. It really was a team effort.”
Cardoza was among the clutch performers for the Raiders.
Sierra, leading 49-47, had a chance to ice the win with free throws with 20 seconds left, but both were missed. Cardoza came down with the defensive rebound and was fouled, setting the stage for her big attempts from the stripe at the end of regulation.
The Timberwolves didn’t even get a shot off in the final seconds, turning it over instead.
In overtime, Cardoza reeled in a key offensive rebound that led to Ashlyn Endow making one of two free throws that gave Central Catholic a 58-55 lead with 16 seconds remaining.
Sierra again missed two free throws on the next possession, and Cardoza was again fouled after battling for another defensive rebound.
“Mia was huge, and she’s a freshman,” Murata Nichols said. “From the beginning, her confidence has just been growing. We have her playing as one of our bigs, which takes her out of her comfort zone, but she steps up and does all the dirty work. She does everything that we ask of her.”
Free throws and turnovers were big issues for Sierra. The Timberwolves made just one of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, going 5-for-18 overall. Central Catholic was 9-of-13 on foul shots and forced 24 turnovers, most coming in the second half as it sped up the game with its bothersome full-court press.
“In the second half, they definitely got us out of our groove when they started pressing us,” Valencia said. “It wasn’t like it was super difficult, but when we’d break it, we didn’t know how to settle down after getting past halfcourt. Instead of calming down to reset, we just kept making bad decisions and turning it over.
“Central Catholic is a young team, but they’re always going to compete. It’s hard to beat a team like that twice.”
