Moderator's Note: Sorry this isn't formatted. Sending from my iPad on a plane. Congrats Hawks!
GIRLS CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP: VOLCANO VISTA 62, ELDORADO 49
Hawks Prove a Point
VVHS Too Strong For No. 1 Seed
By James Yodice Journal Staff Writer
There were some who reasonably wondered why the Volcano Vista Hawks weren't made the No. 1 seed for the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament — including the Hawks themselves.
By the end of a convincing win against Eldorado, it had to be a majority.
"This just proves that we should have been the first (seed)," senior guard Emma Fenske said.
Fenske and the Hawks capped a magnificent season with one of their best performances, a 62-49 victory over Eldorado in the Class 5A championship game Saturday afternoon at the Pit.
"I am extremely excited that we beat that team in particular," Volcano Vista senior post Schylar Malone said, "because they called us out. Be careful what you wish for."
Saturday marked Volcano Vista's first-ever title game, and the program's first foray down the Pit's famous ramp. The Hawks (28-1) ended Eldorado's 24-game winning streak, which had begun after Volcano Vista beat the Eagles on Dec. 1.
Volcano Vista was the only team to beat Eldorado (27-2) this season. The Hawks led for almost all of the final three quarters and were the more composed, effective, balanced team throughout.
And here was a substantial part of the explanation why: Fenske and Malone are the Hawks' two leading scorers, but it was Laneah Bryan and Ashley Williams who provided such tremendous spark Saturday.
Bryan, a sophomore, had a game-high 17 points — seven above her season average — to go along with five rebounds. Williams added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists, plus a handful of steals.
"When they needed baskets," Eldorado coach Mike Huston said, "it wasn't necessarily Schylar or Emma, it was those two kids."
Bryan is in her second varsity season.
"I'm proud of my performance tonight," she said.
Williams, Class 5A's top soccer player, didn't play basketball the past two seasons. But she wandered into coach Lisa Villareal's office last summer and offered her services. Williams had already won a state soccer title in 2010 with Fenske and Malone. And those three — and others — were still stinging from a 1-0 loss to La Cueva in last November's 5A championship game.
"I knew if (I) played with these girls, we would have a chip on our shoulder if we played in a state championship game again," said Williams, who will play soccer at Kansas.
Volcano Vista took the lead for good 1:48 into the second quarter, which was a significant marker. That's when Eldorado's Gina Okoye picked up her third foul and went to the bench for the rest of the half.
Williams had a couple of key baskets in the half as the Hawks led 30-22 at intermission. Eldorado made a brief push in the third quarter, but Bryan, Williams and another unheralded Hawk — Bethany Karnopp — kept the Eagles at bay.
For the Eagles and Huston, it was yet another disappointing finish to the postseason.
Eldorado has been Class 5A's No. 1 playoff seed for three consecutive seasons, but that has yet to translate into state tournament success.
Eldorado's cause was continually hampered by the extended absences of its best player, senior guard Okoye, who was in foul trouble from the start. Through the first three quarters, she had played only four minutes, 41 seconds total.
Okoye eventually fouled out with 1:44 left in the game. She and Chelsea Nelson led the Eagles with nine points.
"I felt like I let my team down," a teary-eyed Okoye said. "I made stupid fouls."
JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL Laneah Bryan, left, and Schylar Malone enjoy the aftermath of Volcano Vista's 5A title victory over Eldorado.
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