CHICO — Defense, rebounding and playing as a team are all keys to the success in any championship run.
The Pleasant Valley girls basketball team excelled in all three of these Thursday night as the No. 3 seeded Vikings defeated No. 11 Antelope in round two of the CIF Division II state playoffs in Chico.
Next up the Vikings (25-7) will host No. 10 Oakland Tech (13-16) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Varley Gym in Chico. Oakland Tech is the defending CIF Division I champions, but was forced to forfeit five games due to an ineligible player and was dropped down a division. The winner Saturday will play in the NorCal Regional Finals Tuesday to determine who will represent NorCal in the Division II state championship March 9 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
With Antelope locking down PV’s leading scorers AJ Gambol (18.9 PPG) and Maddux Wilson (14 PPG) Thursday, PV forward Ava Dunn provided the spark on offense the Vikings needed.
Dunn, who entered Thursday averaging just 5 points per game, scored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, 2-of-2 on 3-pointers, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Dunn added 13 rebounds and three blocked shots to her night’s total.
Gambol still finished with 16 points, but it took her 21 shots to do so.
“I told the girls when they’re playing AJ like that, the other girls have to step up,” Paddock said. “Ava did awesome on offense, and so did Shannon Fong.”
Fong, a junior point guard averaging 6.1 points per game, scored 12 points for the Vikings, going 4-for-4 from the 3-point line.
Dunn said she started feeling her shot and getting confidence when her first 3-pointer went down midway through the second quarter.
The game was tied at 16-16 after the first quarter, with neither team getting a lead larger than three points. There were seven lead changes in the first quarter and three in the second quarter. PV trailed 22-21 after a 3-pointer by Kamaria Charlo, but that would be the last lead for the Titans.
PV went on a 7-0 run to take a 29-22 lead, and a put back by Dunn gave PV a 31-25 lead entering halftime. Dunn had 11 points in the first half and seven points in the second half.
The Vikings outscored the Titans 15-12 in the third quarter to a 46-37 lead, with Gambol scoring eight of the Vikings’ 15 points.
The fourth quarter is when PV put the game away, outscoring Antelope 14-8.
Despite PV shooting 22-of-54 (40.7%) as a team, the Vikings shot 8-of-11 (72.7%) on 3-pointers and 8-of-12 (66%) from the free-throw line.
“The keys to tonight were playing great defense, knocking down shots, and we were attacking the rim,” Dunn said.
Dunn credited the team’s chemistry to the success throughout the season, mentioning how many members of the Vikings team have been playing together since third grade.
“Everybody knows that AJ and Maddux are two of our best players, and they were playing them hard so I knew I had to step up and do something,” Dunn said.
While Wilson was limited to five points on 2-of-5 shooting, she was tasked with guarding Antelope’s strongest 3-point shooter. Isabella Azzolino has 106 3-pointers made in her senior season, nine more than Wilson and Gambol combined. Azzolino made seven 3-pointers in the Titans’ round one victory against Buchanan, but she was held to three 3-pointers Thursday (all in the first half). Wilson also had the Vikings’ only two steals.
“Maddux didn’t have her best day on offense, but she did a great job on (Azzolino),” Paddock said. “(Azzolino) hit some 3’s tonight, but she had to work for them.”
The Vikings’ lone senior, Caitlyn Vickery, added 11 rebounds, including six key offensive rebounds. Wilson had six rebounds from the guard position, and Gambol had five.
“I think the key to any playoff run is rebounding and defense,” Paddock said. “I think they finally realize now in their third year they have to play good D, to go on a run. You might win a game on your shots one night, but it’s hard to win four or five games against good teams if you don’t play good D and rebound.”
