Paloma Valley stuns top-seeded Righetti in regionals, 57-45

Sydney Woodley, shown in action last Thursday, scored 21 points to lead her team Tuesday night.

How did they do it?

Having only seven available players with varsity experience, and just five days after losing by 22 points in the CIF-SS championship game, the Paloma Valley High School girls basketball team drove 5 ½ hours to Santa Maria today and upset top-seeded Righetti, 57-45, in the first round of the CIF State Southern Regionals.

Coach Matt Dale, who admitted his players “didn’t have great energy in the first half,” trailed 22-14 at the intermission before outscoring Righetti by 20 points in the second half in front of the stunned home crowd.

What did Dale tell his players at halftime?

“I don’t remember,” said Dale, who had little voice left after the game.

Whatever took place at halftime, the Wildcats came out like a different team in the second half. Led by Sydney Woodley’s 21 points, they knocked off a Righetti team they also defeated in Santa Maria in last year’s Southern Regionals on the way to the regional title.

The victory puts Paloma Valley (13-4) into the second round of the regionals Thursday at 7 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic (18-9) of Chula Vista. Paloma lost to the Crusaders, 50-42, on May 1.

“In the first half, we had only two offensive rebounds, we were settling for shots … the defense was solid, but not very aggressive,” Dale said. “The second half, we played hard for 16 minutes. I couldn’t have asked for a better effort.

“They were rebounding, grabbing loose balls, getting putbacks … It was close going into the fourth. We had a good little crowd there supporting us, and I think we just felt like we weren’t through.”

Dale was disappointed with his team’s No. 8 seeding, meaning his team would have to play every regional game on the road. It also meant they had a long road trip to face the Warriors, who came into the game with a 14-2 record. On top of that, a team already short-handed was playing without junior Essynce Lewis, who suffered a hip injury in the CIF-SS championship game loss to Eisenhower High of Rialto.

Stocked with some JV call-ups and a whole lot of determination, the Wildcats turned things around in the second half.

“Most of Sydney’s points were in the second half,” Dale said. “She was awesome. Trinitee [Bradley] hit some big threes, all in the second half. Mya [Pierfax] hurt her finger, which affected her shooting a little, but she still had a great game (14 points). Christianna [Hawkins] dominated in offensive rebounds.

“It was really a group effort. Ashlee Medrano, a freshman, hasn’t played much this year, but she got a lot of minutes and she played great.”