Lady Cougars finish 2nd in CCS, advance to Nor-cals

Coming into the CCS Division I championship game, few expected the Evergreen Valley Cougars to have much of a shot against number one ranked San Benito. The Haybalers had three players over six feet tall and had outscored their opponents during the CCS playoffs by an average of 25.5 points.

The Cougars started the game sluggishly as San Benito opened with a 7-0 run and led after the first quarter 11-4. Evergreen's perimeter game came to life in the second quarter. Guards Jennifer Le, Alyssa Prudencio and Jezelle Cutia hit clutch threes to bring the Cougars to a one point deficit at the half. After a back and forth third stanza, Evergreen claimed a one point lead, but was unable to hold on in the final quarter. The Haybalers' two centers, Lauren Adamek and Victoria Aguilera, came up with a number of timely rebounds while guard Vanessa Farias hit four clutch free throws in the game's final minutes to wrap the game up for San Benito, 48-37.

Evergreen will advance to the Northern California championships on the merit of its second place finish in CCS. The opponent and location of the game is to be determined.