High school basketball: Central Section title streak lives on for Clovis West in D-I
There was just no way Athena Tomlinson wanted to be any part of the first Clovis West girls basketball team to lose in a Central Section championship.
That is because the Golden Eagles had won 11 consecutive section titles entering Saturday’s game against St. Joseph at Selland Arena.
The streak lives on for Clovis West as Riley Walls scored 13 points and Ariyah Smith added 11 points to help Clovis West to a 45-41 victory over the Knights.
“You know the streak is going to come to an end at some point,” Tomlinson said. “It’s not going to end while I’m here.”
The section title makes it the 24th in school history for Clovis West, according to section historian Bob Barnett.
Tomlinson and Smith have each won four section titles under Golden Eagles coach Craig Campbell.
“A lot of people were able to step up,” Smith said. “We put a lot of hard work and dedication into this win and I feel like it was tough down the stretch against St. Joseph.”
Campbell enjoyed the win as much as his players and explained this recent title “has a different journey.”
“People start taking you for granted,” he said. “That you’re going to just get there and you’re going to win. It’s so much work and we’ve had so much respect for (UCLA-bound) Avary (Cain) her whole career.”
While Tomlinson didn’t have a monster game as she’s accustomed to having, she drew two fouls against Cain.
She said she’ll take that over a big stat line if it helps her team win after scoring just five points.
“Just understanding how I can impact the game,” she said. “I can impact the game in so many ways. As you saw today, I didn’t score as many points, but I got in against their two best guards. I locked them up and drew charges. I feel like I impacted the game that way.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2024 at 11:59 PM.
