The Madera Coyotes girls basketball team used a big second half to record a 55-16 victory over Washington Union-Easton on the first day of the Madera South Girls Basketball tournament.
The Coyotes outscored the Panthers 26-6 in the second half Wednesday night. They also held the Panthers to just two made field goals while forcing 26 turnovers.
Rhynne Mitchell took over in the third quarter and scored a game-high 20 points. She scored 11 of her points in the third quarter. She also had five rebounds and three steals.
Mayeli Hill scored nine points with 11 rebounds and six steals while Aasyria Goins also scored nine points to go with five rebounds and five steals. Jasmine Levy scored eight with five rebounds and Matty Gonzalez pulled down seven rebounds.
The Coyotes jumped to a 10-2 first quarter lead after a Mitchell offensive putback and a Hill 3-pointer.
After the Panthers scored the first two points of the second quarter, Madera scored the next seven with a 3-point play by Aaliyah String, a seven-foot jumper from Hill and a steal and layup from Goins.
The Panthers cut the Coyotes’ lead to 11 late in the first half, but the Coyotes closed the quarter on an 8-0 run. Goins put back a miss. Then, Goins, after a steal, found Hill for a layup. Mitchell turned a steal into a layup and Hill found Levy for a layup and a 29-10 halftime lead.
Mitchell went coast-to-coast on a rebound for a layup and extend the run to 10. After a Panthers’ free throw, Mitchell made a layup and a free throw.
Sara Luna made a free throw. Mitchell scored the final seven points of the third quarter with two free throws, a runner, a layup and another free throw for a 42-12 lead into the fourth quarter.
After two Panthers’ free throws to open the fourth, the Coyotes got a 3-pointer from Syriah Hill, a jumper from Mayeli Hill and a lay-up from Levy for a 49-14 lead to cruise to the 55-16 victory.