Cerro Coso wins final home game on Sophomore Night by 95 points

Eduardo Miranda

The Daily Independent

The Cerro Coso women's basketball team went into the final game of Inland Empire Athletic Conference play knowing it had already earned a playoff berth. The Coyotes hosted the Barstow Vikings on Sophomore Night and before tipoff celebrated their four sophomore players in Shayla Kantarevic, Shaniyah McCarthy, Alexis Staton, and Iliana Nye.

After the Sophomore Celebration, the Coyotes faced the last-place Vikings, and after four quarters celebrated a 116-21 home win. Cerro Coso finished conference play with a 13-3 record and a 23-5 overall record to finish tied for second place with Victor Valley.

"It was good and a nice way to put closure on it. Got to watch our whole team play and score the basketball. I'm just happy that we were able to be this successful in a competitive conference this year," said head coach Keshawn Johnson on the win.

Cerro Coso shot 54.2% from the field on 83 attempts, 40% from the three-point line on 40 attempts, and 71.4% from the free-throw line on 14 attempts. The team had 34 rebounds with 10 offensive rebounds, 34 assists, 43 steals, and three blocks, and committed only six turnovers. The Coyotes finished with two players with a triple-double. Nye had eight points and five rebounds. Off the bench Lia Sims had nine points and four rebounds.

Staton led the team in scoring with 29 points and had five steals, four assists, and three rebounds. McCarthy had a triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 steals. Kantarevic had 18 points and four steals. Savannah Rowland had a triple-double of 13 points, 11 assists, and 10 steals.

Cerro Coso started the first quarter with a 20-4 run, which gave the home team control of the game. The run began with Kantarevic hitting a three-pointer, McCarthy making a jump shot, Staton getting a steal for an easy layup, going 1-for-2 at the free throw line, and getting a layup on pass from Rowland for a 10-0 lead. The run continued with a Kantarevic layup followed by Barstow scoring its first points, Staton hitting a corner three-pointer, Rowland hitting a corner three-pointer, Barstow scoring and Cerro Coso responding with Staton hitting a baseline jump shot for a 20-4 lead and a Vikings timeout. During the run, the Coyote defense forced steals and turnovers allowing them to play the first five minutes on the Vikings' side of the court. Cerro Coso won the first quarter 27-7.

The second quarter began with the Coyotes on a 10-0 run with Staton scoring a layup and three-pointer, Kantarevic with a three, and McCarthy with a reverse layup for a 37-7 lead. Barstow stopped the run, scoring four unanswered points, which led to Cerro Coso closing the final seven minutes on a 24-2 run. The run began with a layup by Staton and ended with Rowland scoring on a layup. In the run, the Coyotes made five layups, four three-pointers, and went 2-for-5 from the free-throw line for a halftime 61-13 lead.

The second half was much the same with Cerro Coso going on runs against the Vikings to secure a home win and remain a perfect 11-0 at home. With the win the Coyotes finish in a tie for second place with Victor Valley and in a playoff spot.

Johnson said on reaching the playoff in his first season, "it feels good. We are a brand-new program, haven't had one in a decade. For us to step in and have an immediate impact inside the Cerro Coso Athletics department means a lot. We are excited and take it one game at a time and see who we get and continue to do things we have been doing all year."

The Coyotes are waiting for the 2025 3C2A brackets to be released to learn their fate in the playoff. Johnson said on what he wants to see his players take into the playoff, "it's easy to say that I hope they take their confidences, the winnings, and et cetera, but I hope they take the memories with them and how important the journey was and the off-court skill sets we built. In terms of the mental side, in terms of the relationships, in terms of the family building, I hope they take that into and go fight for each other for four quarters in one more game."