‘Runners return to the Ship

ROSAMOND – Rosamond girls basketball head coach Justin Armstrong told his girls at halftime that it had to “make a statement.” “We set some goals at halftime, and the girls executed,” Armstrong said. Did they ever.

The Roadrunners outscored North High of Bakersfield, 40-16, in the second half and cruised to an easy, 71-35, victory over the Stars in the semifinals of the Division 5 playoffs, Thursday evening at Rosamond High School. Th Roadrunners will play in the championship game for the second consecutive year. Last year, Rosamond defeated Immanuel, 62-23, to win the title.



Following Thursday’s victory, the Roadrunners (24-7) will face arch-nemesis Bishop in the CIF championship game, next Saturday at Selland Arena in Fresno. The teams split this season with each team winning on the other’s home court. Most recently, Rosamond defeated the Broncos (21-4), 50-30, on Jan.

31. Bishop defeated Strathmore, 30-26, in the other semifinal game to punch its ticket. “Part of the halftime speech was to act like we were down.

I think in the beginning we played too relaxed. It took a quarter or so to get going,” Armstrong said. “We have a lot of fire power out there.

I thought we shot the ball extremely well. The girls are getting better every day.” Just ask North.

It was hit with a barrage of 3-pointers from every direction, north, south, east and west. The Roadrunners finished the game 17-of-42 from beyond the arc, including Kiley Perez’ nine 3-pointers. Perez finished with a game-high 27 points as she shot a blistering 9-for-20 from 3-point range.

Perez finished two 3-pointers off her career-high 11. Teammate Ambrie Renteria was 5-of-13 from distance and Georgia Lizotte was a perfect 3-of-3 on 3-pointers. “In the beginning, I don’t think I was in the right mindset.

I had to make sure our energy was up. The feeling of a CIF title on the line and running it back put our adrenaline up,” Perez said. “Some of us were nervous in the beginning, but we got over it.

I’m so excited because we’ve been there before, and we won’t be nervous. We know we’ll have to bring the energy. They (Bishop) think they can beat us, but we’ll make sure we come back with the ring.

” The Stars (16-11) kept the game close in the second quarter as both teams started to heat up. Rosamond led 19-15 but extended the lead to 22-15 following a 3-pointer by Perez. North kept the game close, only trailing 25-19, but the Roadrunners headed to the locker room with a 30-19 lead.

One of the knockout blows occurred in the third quarter which left North seeing stars, following a 3-point opportunity by Renteria. She converted the layup and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but more importantly the Roadrunners extended their lead to 40-20.

That layup by Renteria capped a 10-1 run. As Rosamond was just getting started, the Stars looked fatigued and worn out as the Roadrunners scored on multiple easy fast breaks. “In the first quarter our energy was down.

In the second and third quarters we decided to turn it up and make a point that we’re still here. We’re still the champions,” Roadrunners point guard Nadiyah Baladez said. “I love this experience, although it’s nerve wracking.

I wouldn’t want to do this with any other team. I think in the beginning we kind of overlooked them, which came back in our face. After the first quarter, we played amazing.

” The Roadrunners defeated the Stars 64-33 earlier this season on Dec. 26. Rosamond’s stifling defense, which has only allowed 33 points per game in the playoffs, forced North to commit 24 turnovers.

The Stars’ BB Vazquez gave Rosamond a little trouble in the first half, however, Armstrong used a box-and-one on Vazquez with Renteria, and Renteria held her in check. “We’re a shooting team now. It’s our culture.

When those are falling,” Armstrong said. “We can beat teams in a multitude of ways. Teams a very hard-pressed to figure out who to guard.

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