Dougherty Valley 57, Pleasant Valley-Chico 47

The Star: Dougherty Valley’s Rayven Brooks was unstoppable. She recorded a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds and knocked down three 3-pointers.

The Turning Point: The Vikings were trailing Dougherty by 10 at the half, but managed to swing the momentum their way in the third quarter. Pleasant Valley went on a 20-11 run, sparked by Kiley Mansfield and capped by Kelsey Miller’s three-pointer to bring the Vikings within one-point at 38-37.

The Wildcats inbounded the ball to Rayven Brooks with three seconds remaining in the quarter. Brooks took a couple dribbles toward the three-point line, and launched a lightly contested three that found the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded. The shot gave the Wildcats a huge boost as they stretched the lead back to 10 with three straight baskets to start the fourth quarter and put Pinole Valley squarely on their heels.

The Quote: “It gave them energy and let them know they could go out and make their threes too.”— Dougherty Valley’s Rayven Brooks said of her third quarter buzzer-beating shot.

What’s Next: No. 4-seeded Wildcats prepare to tangle with top-seeded St. Mary’s-Stockton on Saturday at Delta College, 7pm.

Bottom Line: On a night when the Wildcats and Vikings struggled to shoot the ball with any consistency, the Dougherty size and offensive rebounding acumen carried it to victory. The Wildcats out-shot Pleasant Valley by 17 attempts in the first half and found their usual deadly three-point shooting in the second half.

——————————

With than four seconds on the clock in the third quarter, Dougherty Valley High guard  Jackie Taylor inbounded to a wide-open Rayven Brooks.

Brooks quickly faced up, took two dribbles forward and nailed a three over two Pleasant Valley defenders as the buzzer sounded.

The shot gave the Wildcats a four-point advantage and they went on to defeat Pleasant Valley-Chico 57-47 in the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic Federation Northern regional playoffs.

Pleasant Valley seemed to be taking control with tight defense and a 20-11 scoring run in the third period, but Brooks' three was the single most important play of the game.

“I do not like to see my teammates struggle,” Brooks said of the Wildcats’ combined 10-of-37 shooting in the first half. “I am the leader and I feel like I am responsible for getting all of my teammates' confidence back.”

Brooks shot brought a huge roar from the home crowd but also opened the floodgates for her teammates.

Dougherty’s Natasha Morando scored all of her points in the second half and accounted for the team’s first basket of the fourth period. Center Jasmine Jenkins followed her lead with two consecutive layups.

The Wildcats quickly pushed their lead to double digits with the quick 6-0 run to start the quarter. With five minutes remaining in the game, the Vikings seemed to have lost all their steam and confidence.

“(Pleasant Valley) matched-up well. They are a smart team and they are going to execute,” Dougherty Valley coach Doug Vanderhorst said while praising the Vikings disciplined style of play and coaching. “We had good ball movement and we were finding open shooters but you cannot go 4-of-17 from three and expect to be successful … even though we were successful.

“The team we just played, came in 24-2, section champs and they have not lost in two months. If we had a mental lapse, whether it was a match-up or closing-out on somebody, we paid for it.”

In the closing minutes, Pleasant Valley never got closer than 53-45, even while watching the Wildcats miss a slew of free throws down the stretch.

The difference was Brooks.

She scored 23 points, including three 3-pointers and ferociously crashed the glass against the undersized Vikings. Brooks pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, two more than her teammate and “sister” Caroline Hughes.

“Caroline is like my other sister. When my sister (Treyvonna) and I play well, she plays well,” said Brooks. “We are like a triangle.”

Jenkins was the team’s second leading scorer with 10 points, while point guard Jackie Taylor handed out five assists.

The Wildcats continue their state championship hunt on Saturday against No. 1-seeded St. Mary’s of Stockton.

“(St. Mary’s) is really good. I played against them my freshman and sophomore year at Sacred Heart,” said Brooks. “I think it is going to be a good game but we can handle them.

“We are ready for the state title run. We have to get past St. Mary’s and then we are onto Arco.”