Girls Basketball: Priceless blowout win for Antelopes in first round vs. Simi Valley
Feb. 20, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — Senior Tylen Price was missing on Thursday night as third-seeded Antelope Valley took on Simi Valley in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 3AA playoffs.
Morgan Bizzell and Oriana Brown took it upon themselves to make sure hardly anyone noticed in an 81-37 romp over the Pioneers (5-22) that sent the Antelopes (24-1) to the second round for the first time since 2012.
"When Tylen's not here, I'm the leader. I have to lead the team," said Bizzell, a junior.
On this night, so did Brown, a sophomore. The duo picked up 18 points apiece to lead AV to its 21st consecutive double-digit win.
After a 3-pointer from Simi Valley's Jenah Lazicki to tie the game up at 5-5 early in the first quarter, Bizzell scored eight consecutive points. By the end of the period, the 'Lopes had reeled off a 21-0 run and were in complete control.
"We went out and played for Tylen," Brown said.
With Price sitting out due to a disciplinary action handed down by CIF, Brown picked up the slack and did most of her offensive damage in the first quarter, scoring 10 points.
The 6-foot-2 forward was a handful for the smaller Pioneers, who at times looked like they needed a ladder to climb up to where Brown held the ball.
"If (Brown) can continue to play like this, not only would it boost her confidence, but it adds a whole another dimension to what we have to offer," AV head coach Deon Price said. "She's a difference maker, man."
Niyah Page had 15 points and Kyler Jackson added 12 for AV, which next plays at Sultana High on Saturday.
The only alarming moments of the night for the Antelopes came midway through the third quarter, when a hard foul from a Pioneer sent a charging Bizzell flying toward the wall behind the basket. As she hit it, she hollered in pain.
"That's a scary thing," Deon Price said. "My kids are tough, though. My kids are very tough."
Bizzell stayed down for a few minutes as she was attended to before walking off under her own power to the bench. She came back in to shoot a pair of technical free throws and then, with her team up 60-26, left for good.
By the end of the period, the 'Lopes led 73-28 and were well on their way to yet another blowout win.
The Antelopes haven't played a close game all year and have been on the winning side in all but one of them. With the playoffs starting, one figures that has to come to an end soon.
The way the last tight game the Antelopes played ended, a heartbreaking 40-39 loss in the first round of the 2013-14 playoffs, Deon Price hopes it doesn't.
"After last year's game, we don't like tightness," Deon Price said. "We don't want to be within range to where a call or a play can be the difference in our game like last year. That hurt so bad."
The 'Lopes will have Bizzell and Tylen Price available for the next game, one against a team that upset 12th-seeded Palm Springs 39-33 on the road.
One more win will get them to the quarterfinals, which is where the road ended for all of AV's championship teams from 2009-12. For now, the 2014-15 Antelopes are happy not to end their season like they did last year.
"We had a talk and we all had that memory of us losing that, and today we had to make sure that didn't happen again," Brown said.
Even if Tylen Price couldn't take part in it, it was still a great new memory.
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — Senior Tylen Price was missing on Thursday night as third-seeded Antelope Valley took on Simi Valley in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 3AA playoffs.
Morgan Bizzell and Oriana Brown took it upon themselves to make sure hardly anyone noticed in an 81-37 romp over the Pioneers (5-22) that sent the Antelopes (24-1) to the second round for the first time since 2012.
"When Tylen's not here, I'm the leader. I have to lead the team," said Bizzell, a junior.
On this night, so did Brown, a sophomore. The duo picked up 18 points apiece to lead AV to its 21st consecutive double-digit win.
After a 3-pointer from Simi Valley's Jenah Lazicki to tie the game up at 5-5 early in the first quarter, Bizzell scored eight consecutive points. By the end of the period, the 'Lopes had reeled off a 21-0 run and were in complete control.
"We went out and played for Tylen," Brown said.
With Price sitting out due to a disciplinary action handed down by CIF, Brown picked up the slack and did most of her offensive damage in the first quarter, scoring 10 points.
The 6-foot-2 forward was a handful for the smaller Pioneers, who at times looked like they needed a ladder to climb up to where Brown held the ball.
"If (Brown) can continue to play like this, not only would it boost her confidence, but it adds a whole another dimension to what we have to offer," AV head coach Deon Price said. "She's a difference maker, man."
Niyah Page had 15 points and Kyler Jackson added 12 for AV, which next plays at Sultana High on Saturday.
The only alarming moments of the night for the Antelopes came midway through the third quarter, when a hard foul from a Pioneer sent a charging Bizzell flying toward the wall behind the basket. As she hit it, she hollered in pain.
"That's a scary thing," Deon Price said. "My kids are tough, though. My kids are very tough."
Bizzell stayed down for a few minutes as she was attended to before walking off under her own power to the bench. She came back in to shoot a pair of technical free throws and then, with her team up 60-26, left for good.
By the end of the period, the 'Lopes led 73-28 and were well on their way to yet another blowout win.
The Antelopes haven't played a close game all year and have been on the winning side in all but one of them. With the playoffs starting, one figures that has to come to an end soon.
The way the last tight game the Antelopes played ended, a heartbreaking 40-39 loss in the first round of the 2013-14 playoffs, Deon Price hopes it doesn't.
"After last year's game, we don't like tightness," Deon Price said. "We don't want to be within range to where a call or a play can be the difference in our game like last year. That hurt so bad."
The 'Lopes will have Bizzell and Tylen Price available for the next game, one against a team that upset 12th-seeded Palm Springs 39-33 on the road.
One more win will get them to the quarterfinals, which is where the road ended for all of AV's championship teams from 2009-12. For now, the 2014-15 Antelopes are happy not to end their season like they did last year.
"We had a talk and we all had that memory of us losing that, and today we had to make sure that didn't happen again," Brown said.
Even if Tylen Price couldn't take part in it, it was still a great new memory.