That’s a comeback! Clovis West rallies from a 20-point deficit to win in CIF playoffs
There’s a reason Aari’yanna Sanders had a big exhale late in Wednesday night’s Clovis West girls basketball game.
It’s because the top-seeded Golden Eagles trailed the entire game – and by as much as 20 points – before Sanders’ layup gave Clovis West a 53-51 lead with 1:50 remaining. The Eagles went on to a 61-55 victory over No. 8 Redondo Union-Redondo Beach in the CIF Southern California Open Division quarterfinals.
“So relieved,” Sanders said. “Finally, we can breathe for a second. We were determined to win it.”
It was the biggest comeback victory in coach Craig Campbell’s 14 seasons at Clovis West.
Sanders finished with 20 points, including her pivotal layup when she cut between two defenders in the paint and teammate Madison Campbell found her under the basket.
Campbell, who is signed to play at USC next season, finished with a game-high 23 points.
“You can’t let the anxiety of the game speed you up,” Campbell said. “You just got to breathe. You can’t let that take away from who you are. You just got to play your game.”
Clovis West (30-3) will host No. 5 Mater Dei-Santa Ana (28-4) in the regional semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Eagles are aiming for the second state Open championship in three seasons.
Sixth-seeded Clovis North’s season came to an end in a 59-41 loss to No. 3 Sierran Canyon-Chatsworth, also in the SoCal Open bracket. The Broncos went 25-6 with a highlight victory over Clovis West that ended the Eagles’ 68-game Tri-River Athletic Conference winning streak.
This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 10:30 PM.
