Desert (1-12) fought from start to finish in a nail-biting game against the San Diego City Knights (3-12), falling 54-53.

The Roadrunners were caught in a back-and-forth scoring battle in the first quarter, then everything came to a screaching halt. Stopping with Desert up 12-9, with 1:47 left in the first quarter, neither team could find the basket until 5:43 left in the second quarter, over six minutes scoreless for both teams. This scoreless drought was broken by Desert sophomore starting forward Mercades Young (Moreno Valley Vista Del Lago) who connected on two free throws.

San Diego City rolled to an eleven to three run over the final 4:29 in the first half. Although Desert retained a lead going into the break, 23-22, the momentum was wavering. 

A tight scoring third quarter left a tie-game, 36-36 going into the fourth. With 26 seconds left in the game, freshman guard Vanessa Madera (Thermal Coachella Valley) nailed a huge three-pointer to give the Roadrunners a 53-52 lead. Unfortunately, the Desert defense struggled to stop a Knights layup with six seconds left, leaving the Roadrunners with few options, but to dart up the court and heave a last second shot attempt, which fell short.

Young had an outstanding game leading the team with 21 points, 11 of which were scored in the second half alone. All of her shots from the field were from beyond the arc as she went 5 of 8 from three-point range. Young also added three rebounds and two assists on the night. Madera also scored in double digits, collecting 10 points, shooting 3 of 7 from the field, with all three also being three-pointers and grabbing seven boards.

Freshman starting guard Kiera Duran (Garden Grove Bolsa Grande) scored eight, going 3 of 9 shooting with 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, four boards, two assists and a block. Sophomore starting guard Jada Toland (Indio Shadow Hills) led the team with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals and freshman center Destiny Fraizer (Blythe Palo Verde Valley) had seven boards and went a perfect 3 for 3 from the charity stripe.

Photo by Rodrigo Pena and Story by Ashtyn Lyneis (COD Sports Information)
Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.