Champions Again

“It means the world. We faced a lot of adversity, a lot of people who didn’t believe in us, who said that we will be one and done,” Antelope Valley junior Niya Price said. “We just wanted to finish the job.

“Our team has been down throughout the year, so just being able to come back and just being able to give them that push and put AV back on the map and bring excitement back to our school, it just means everything.”

The Antelopes (16-6) jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the game, built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and led by as many as 30 in the third quarter.

“I’m just happy we went and got it, for real,” Antelope Valley junior Ariana Soil said. “It means a lot to us, because nobody would have ever thought that AV would be in this position.

“Our girls, we worked hard. From the team we started with to the team we ended with, two different teams. Coach made us work. He did his part. We did our part and we went and got it.”

Soil scored a game-high 26 points for the Antelopes, to go with seven assists and five steals.

Soil scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, as St. Pius X-St. Matthias (19-12) threatened to close the gap, but was already in too big a hole.

The Antelopes used defense to jump out to an early lead and never let up.

“Just our energy helped us throughout the game,” Niya Price said. “We just had the mentality that we came too far, so we made it this far, why not finish the job. That just gave us motivation and an extra push going into the half and throughout the game.”

Soil had five points in the opening quarter as the Antelopes took a 14-4 lead at the end of the first.

Antelope Valley had a scare with two minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter, when Niya Price limped off the court, favoring her right knee, which is in a brace.

Niya Price returned and did not seem to be affected.

“We’re a little banged up right now, a little injured, but we didn’t let that get to us,” Niya Price said. “We came too far to lose. We didn’t drive all the way out here to go back home with nothing, so we just had to do it for our city, our town, our coaches, families, teammates.”

Niya Price needed to be helped off the court again in the third quarter after a collision, but would again return.

Soil had a steal and fastbreak layup with 1:08 remaining in the first quarter to give the Antelopes a 14-4 lead.

“Coach has been on us all season about starting off,” Soil said. “We want to come out on top, so we came out and started off, we had energy.”

The Antelopes’ defense carried its intensity over into the second quarter, when AV outscored St. Pius 18-4.

Soil made a layup with 3:20 left in the first half to give AV a 26-6 lead.

Soil led the Antelopes’ defense with four steals in the first half, as AV had a total of 10 steals and helped force St. Pius into 18 turnovers in the first half.

Niya Price had four of the Antelopes’ five blocks in the first half, as well as two steals and 11 points.

Price finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, three steals and three assists.

“Just being a leader, I couldn’t let my team down,” Niya Price said. “I just wanted to be out there with them, because my energy and they feed off of me. I was just willing to do anything I could do to help my team come out on top.”

St. Pius made just three field goals in the first half.

The Antelope Valley defense finished with 15 steals, forcing 31 turnovers by the Warriors.

Antelope Valley also outrebounded St. Pius X-St. Matthias, 47-40.

Antelope Valley sophomore Armani Avery finished with a game-high 12 rebounds, to go with three points and two steals, senior Lacei Brown had seven points and three steals and senior Blessence Howard finished with three points, three rebounds and two steals.

“I’m proud of the effort that our girls put in tonight,” Antelope Valley co-coach Edward Campbell II said. “Taking over a program midseason is always difficult, but when the girls buy in from the very first time that you step in, following the legendary path I had with coach Price, it made it easy. Stepping in for the games when he wasn’t available, the girls bought into my methods and my madness, at times. Even though they didn’t like it at times. We bonded as it continued to go on. It’s really his show. I followed his path and practiced his game plans. We collaborated.”

Campbell and co-coach Deon Price took over the team after coach Kazeem Tijani resigned midseason after a melee broke out during a Golden League game against Highland.

“The coaches are coaches, but at the end of the day if the players don’t step up and the players don’t buy into the system and buy into what you’re trying to get done, it doesn’t matter,” Deon Price said. “These young ladies bought in. From the time, maybe a month or so ago with some uncertainties. These are some really good kids. It was very, very, very rewarding to just get to this point here and just to see them overcome a lot adversity that they’ve had. This is very fitting. This is well deserved for these young ladies.”

Price was able to coach his daughter to a championship, something he did as the Antelope Valley coach in 2016 with daughter Tylen Price.

He credited Niya Price and Ariana Soil for their hard work during the season.

“These two young ladies are some of the hardest working kids around,” Deon Price said. “What you have seen today and from what you’ve seen all season, is because they get up in the morning and they go get shots up. They put in the extra work in to give them the opportunity to shine in a moment like this. That’s why they’re standing out right now shining like a star, because they put the work in. Now this is kind of like icing on the cake from the work that you’ve been putting in.”

The Antelopes did not relent on defense, even in the second half when they had built a sizable lead.

“We didn’t want any letdown from Saturday,” Campbell said.

Antelope Valley had to rally for a 57-49 win at Vasquez in the semifinals on Feb. 17.

“Our last game, we kind of got a little complacent,” Niya Price said. “This game, our coaches told us, ‘Don’t do that. You’ve got to keep your foot on their neck and keep going, keep going, keep going. No matter what. You can’t let it up.’”

Deon Price corrected his daughter, saying he said foot on the gas.

“We know if we get complacent, we give the other team an opportunity to come back into the game and that just makes it 10 times harder for us,” Niya Price said. “Why not keep your foot on the gas and keep going.”

Deon Price will be coaching his other team today, as the University of Antelope Valley women’s basketball team wraps up the regular season at the Pioneer Event Center. Price said the team will also compete in the conference tournament, despite the university closing.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias sophomore center Stephanie Zesati led the Warriors with 13 points and nine rebounds.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias had three players foul out in a physical, tightly officiated game.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias had a much better showing in the second half, but never outscored AV in any quarter.

“They had come too far to lay down,” St. Pius X-St. Matthias first-year coach Nelson Wong said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls. They fought. They clawed. They did everything we asked of them and that’s all you can do as coaches.

“I’m more proud of them today in a loss than a victory, because they gave it their hearts. They could have folded at halftime and they didn’t. They just fought with everything they have. They showed their pride and their grit.”