Women's basketball squeaked into the playoffs as the final seed in the Western State Conference, upsetting first round opponent.
By: Holdenn Graff, Sports Editor
In a season filled with ups and downs, the Monarchs were handled 72-61 by the Cerro Coso Coyotes last Saturday evening and officially eliminated from the playoffs.
Sophomore guard Gizelle Moreno dropped 24 and came one point shy of a career-high, but the rest of the squad managed to shoot 11-38. Cerro Coso guards Shaniyah McCarthy (22 points) and Alexis Stanton (12 points) led the charge in the starting lineup as forward Lia Sims poured in 16 off the bench. The Coyotes shot 49.1 percent from the field on the night, significantly outpacing Valley’s mark of just 35.3. One thing, however, that the Monarchs never lacked all season, even in defeat, was their sense of togetherness.
“There’s a lot of family [here]. We have a great, great program with good coaches that really have our back on and off the court,” said sophomore guard Venus Gaoa following a victory against Antelope Valley back on February 21 that clinched the playoffs for the Monarchs. “I’m just grateful to be here.”
Following a competitive first quarter in which the two sides finished even at 12, the Monarchs went on to drop the next two quarters 20-9 and 26-17 as their lack of shooting production outside of Moreno began to cause issues. They headed to the fourth trailing 58-38 in the final ten minutes of play.
While it was a disappointing finish to the 2024-2025 campaign, Valley still managed to produce a season with takeaways that the team can be proud of as they turn the page to next year. Perhaps the most prominent of these was their 46-42 win over Santa Ana on Feb. 26 in the first round of the postseason. Despite barely making it into the bracket as the 24th and final seed in the tournament, they took down the nine-seeded Dons on the road to advance to the second round for the first time since 2022-2023.
The squad also produced a level of success at home that hasn’t been as common over the past few years. Finishing 7-3 in games played at Valley this season, it was their second-highest home winning percentage of the past seven years.
“The energy and crowd at home this year was definitely better than my previous year,” said sophomore forward Samantha Maldonado, who led the team in scoring and averaged a double-double in conference play. “Having such a supportive fanbase and seeing family and loved ones every game makes the game extra personal…I didn’t want their time to go to waste and I also wanted them to feel like it was worth coming out to watch us so they would come out to more games.”
As the women’s basketball program continues to prove itself and develop an ongoing sense of continuity, the future remains bright. The Monarchs are one of only two teams in the Western State-South Conference to have playoff appearances each of the last three seasons. Additionally, they have only had a conference record below .500 one time since the 2012-2013 season.
All of these factors certainly bode well for the program as it looks to recruit new talent and establish a constant cycle of competitive basketball for years to come.
“The coaching is how I know this program will continue to thrive,” says Maldonado. “I hope everyone who comes to play at Valley gets to experience that found family feeling. They helped me fall back in love with basketball.”
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