By Sydney Brammer
The Division 4 Redwood Lady Rangers closed off their season with a 15-14 overall record. Wednesday night, February 23, the girls took on Madera High in the semi-finals on the road to Valley and took an upsetting loss of 45-49.
Head coach, Gary Hylton, led a strong and successful team this year. Working around players’ injuries and the delays COVID caused throughout the season, Hylton is proud of his girls and how they persevered despite it all.
“These girls played with so much heart and hustle; and I was so proud of them… the kids really started to believe in each other as the playoffs started.”
Head coach Gary Hylton
The team’s top scorer and captain, Isabella Valero, ’22, averaged about 10.8 points per game. Closing out her high school career, Valero has nothing but pride in her teammates. She says, “I wouldn’t trade my team for the world.”
As a senior, Valero is very sentimental over leaving the team and the sport. She says, “It’s hard to move past something you’ve been doing your whole life, and it’s like reaching a milestone.”
As team captain, it’s Valero’s job to motivate and inspire her teammates to be the best players they can be. After the tough battle against Madera, Valero says, “We fought hard until the very end… we honestly had the win in our hands, but winding down we had lost it.”
Averaging 1.7 assists and 3.1 steals per game, Sydney Calderon, ’24, shared the same disappointment over the loss as her team. Looking to future seasons ahead of her, Calderon is looking to build closer relationships where her future teammates.
Regarding the upsetting loss to end the season, Calderon expresses, “I didn’t want to go out like this- what team would.”
Hylton furthers, ”The Madera game was a war and a game of runs, as we started out fast with a lead, then being down by nine, and then going back up by five.”
He adds, ”The little things hurt us during the game.”
Reminiscing on the overall season, the girls were proud of how far they made it in the season. Calderon says, “It almost didn’t feel real to make it that far… this season was definitely one to remember.”
“When we found out we made [playoffs], we knew we had to show our true potential… I’m glad we made it as far as we did; and my team and I really played our hearts out this season.”
Varsity captain Isabella Valero, ’22
Junior Meriyah Haro was simply thrilled to have experienced such a memorable season as this one was. From kicking off playoffs strong with their 46-35 win against Boron, to their close-knitted match against Madera, Haro was, “happy… how things turned out this year,” she says.
Looking ahead towards her senior season, Haro plans to make a return to playoffs. She says, “I really plan to play my best in order to play for the seniors [this season] who helped motivate us this year.”
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