Calvary Murrieta runs away from Coast Union

After putting together a 9-2 record in the Coast Valley League, good for second place behind Valley Christian Academy, the Coast Union girls basketball team was awarded a home playoff game against the Calvary Murrieta Warriors on Thursday, Feb. 18.

But the Lady Broncos couldn’t keep up with the quick-footed, hot-shooting Warriors and fell 52-29. Reagan Kniffen led Coast with 16 points, while Rima Panchal and Karis Lawson each added 4 points, and Ashley Martinez chipped in with 3.

Senior Panchal said, “I was very grateful that we had a home playoff game, but we were trying to play on their level, and not as a team together. We could have been better if we had passed better, but we didn’t work at who was open, or when to take open shots.”

In a phone interview Saturday, Feb. 20, Panchal said her senior year was “a really good experience. We learned new techniques and won most of our games in our league. We learned to cooperate with new plays we ran and just worked together better as a team.”

But unfortunately, she added, the team didn’t put all those learning moments to good use in the playoff loss to the Warriors.

After graduation in June, Panchal plans to major in business management at either UCLA or UC Irvine. Her family owns the Silver Surf Motel in San Simeon, so her front desk and customer service work have provided business experience while at Coast Union.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 10:14 AM with the headline "Calvary Murrieta runs away from Coast Union."