Ray Conner
Sports Editor

The loss to Frazier Mountain pushed the Lady Broncs (7-7, 5-5 HDL) into an at large bid in the CIF playoffs.

Kern Valley will now travel to face the Valley Christian Lady Crusaders of Cerritos on Thursday at 7 p.m. in first round action. Valley Christian is the No. 2 seed in the CIF playoffs out of the Olympic League. They were 20-6 overall and 7-3 in league play.

Holly Largent, No. 52 of the Lady Broncs gets out on the fast break against Frazier Mountain on Senior Night. Kern Valley lost 44-28.

Taking on the Lady Falcons at home on Feb. 11, the two teams were tied for third place in the High Desert League. The winner knew they had the automatic bid into the CIF playoffs.

It also was Senior Night for Kern Valley. Kelsie Robinson, Kylie Onstott, Holly Largent Tawnie Stout and Tiara Cargile were all part of the senior contingent for the Lady Broncs.

The teams played evenly the first half as Kern Valley was up one at half time.

In the third quarter Frazier Mountain poured in 12 points to erase the deficit and take the 27-22 lead.

It was all downhill for Kern Valley as the Lady Falcons blew open the game with a 17-point fourth to grab the 44-30 victory and push the Lady Broncs into fourth place and needing an at large bid to reach the Division 5AA CIF playoffs.

Largent led the offense with 12 points. Breanna Register and Stout each added four points, while Cargile and Jamie Duran had three points apiece. Duran’s points came from a three-point shot.

Katie Clifton and Robinson closed out the scoring with two points each.

On the boards, Largent collected eight rebounds to lead the Lady Broncs. Duran finished with five boards, while Robinson had four rebounds.

Register pulled down three boards, while Cargile and Stout each had two rebounds.

Head coach Jacqueline Phillips said, “This was a huge game for both teams. It was definitely a tough loss because we knew we were the better team.”

Earlier in the week, the Lady Broncs squared off against the Rosamond Lady Roadrunners on the road.

The game started with both teams exploding on offense. The score after one quarter was 13-13.

By the time intermission rolled around, the lady Broncs were looking at a 28-22 deficit.

They would close to within two at the end of the third quarter and finish it off with a 12-point fourth to take the 46-42 win.

Robinson dropped in 16 points, including two from long distance to lead Kern Valley in scoring. Duran, Register and Largent each scored nine points, while Clifton had two points.

One of Largent’s shots came from three-point land. Jessica Yasin capped the scoring with a made free throw for her one point.

Register grabbed a team-high 17 rebounds. Largent had eight boards, while Duran had six rebounds. Yasin recorded four boards, while Clifton had two rebounds. Cargile and Robinson each had one rebound.

Phillips said, “It was definitely a great win and accomplishment. In my three years of coaching varsity girls basketball we have never beat Rosamond. My girls did a great job throughout the game staying mentally and physically tough. They deserved the win.”