After a fast start and early 26-10-point lead on Sunday night over Diablo Valley, the Moorpark College women’s basketball team seemed destined to be crowned state champions.

By the third quarter, the team would lose one of their biggest contributors in sophomore center Barbara Rangel, when she fell to the Ventura College hardwood, grabbing at her braced knee.

Without Rangel’s presence, Moorpark’s once large lead became nonexistent. SoCal’s No. 1-ranked Moorpark Raiders would lose to NorCal’s No. 1-ranked Diablo Valley Vikings 68-61 in what should have been a matchup for the ages but ended up being hobbled by injury.

“We battled some adversity all season,” Moorpark Coach Kenny Plummer said. “But when it came down to this game, we just couldn’t come over the adversity of losing Barbara.”

Out of the 700 in attendance, Moorpark’s crowd was demoralized, but the Raiders still played hard in Rangel’s absence.

Freshman guard Breanna Calhoun led the charge with 23 points, followed by 15 points from freshman guard Jazmin Carrasco and 12 points from sophomore guard Emily Herring. The three Moorpark scorers were not enough to overcome Diablo Valley, a team that had four players score double-digit points.

The Diablo Valley Vikings began to turn the ship around in the second quarter, hitting six of eight 3-pointers. Diablo Valley guard Jasmine Kong hit from beyond the arc three times in a row followed by two in a row from sophomore guard Jahnay Anderson. The two players had 15 points in 3.5 minutes and cut Moorpark’s 16-point lead to a four-point lead by halftime.

In the third quarter, the 3-point shooting continued, especially with Anderson. She added three more successful 3-pointers, bringing her total to five.

Moorpark’s offense was still moving through Calhoun, but the Vikings kept creeping closer and closer with the 3-ball.

It was the only offense Diablo Valley ran and it deflated all of Moorpark’s successful offensive efforts.

“They hit some contested 3s, we switched defenses and they still, to their credit, knocked down some 3s,” Plummer said. “Even before Barbara went out, they kind of made a run a little bit there, but we spoke about that. We were ready to make our push in the fourth quarter like we always do, but we didn’t expect to make that push without Barbara.”

With the game tied at 45, the unthinkable happened, Rangel went down.

“I just think the biggest thing was having a lead but fail,” Calhoun said in tears after the game. “Of course, Barbara was the moment, the moment changed. She’s a big part of our offense and defense, we tried to adjust, but just obviously couldn’t.”

When Rangel left the game, with almost four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Diablo Valley took advantage and took their first lead of the game since the initial 37 seconds when they led 5-3.

Sophomore center, Barbara Rangel forced to watch from the sidelines as she receives a tape job hopeful to get back into the game. The WSC North player of the year was injured in a scrummage for the ball and exited the game with 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. #CCCAA pic.twitter.com/8LnAUqnBlV

— Moorpark Reporter (@MoorparkReport) March 18, 2019

The Vikings pushed their lead out to 51-48 and Rangel reentered the ball game with 1.5 minutes remaining in the third quarter, determined to change the course of the game once again.

The ball went straight to Rangel on the Raiders’ next offensive possession. She put the ball up twice under the rim without any success and began limping to the sideline.

“At first, I thought she was going to be able to come back in, she just needed a second. But that second time she got out, it was like an ‘oh crap’ moment,” Herring said.

The Vikings laid in even more after that. They jumped out to a 63-51 lead, but before the night was over, the Raiders would make one more push back into the ball game.

They showed their heart, two big blocks by sophomore guard Mia Moore and a three by Calhoun and the crowd was no longer deflated. The building reanimated with life.

@MC_Raiders defensive possession able to cause a shot clock violation and regain possession with 4 minutes remaining. Down 63-56 to Diablo Valley, the Raiders are fighting their hardest without key contributor, center Barbara Rangel. #CCCAA pic.twitter.com/tqKvT1EySH

— Moorpark Reporter (@MoorparkReport) March 18, 2019

“When we were started coming back, the crowd was getting more riled up. We were starting to feel the energy and just get like a boost in a way,” Carrasco said.

The Raiders slimmed the lead to four with two minutes remaining. Even with the disadvantage of losing Rangel down low, they rallied around their team defense.

The Raiders stole the ball from the Vikings four more times to keep the Vikings’ score at bay. With 53 seconds remaining, the Raiders were within two points.

Steal by @emilyherring99 with 54 seconds remaining in the game @MC_Raiders Breanna Calhoun gets fouled with a chance to bring her team within 2. Raiders trail 59-63 in the closing seconds. #CCCAA pic.twitter.com/6Kur8FlQK3

— Moorpark Reporter (@MoorparkReport) March 18, 2019

But the 10-0 run would come to an end when Diablo Valley’s Sierra Smith chased after her own assist and was there, ready for the put-back, after a Leilani Moncrease miss.

With 24.2 seconds to go the Vikings held a four-point lead. The Raiders then lost the ball on a back door and could not recover after that. With 1.6 seconds remaining Diablo Valley could celebrate, knowing they had won.

A demoralizing ending to an injured Moorpark team. Diablo Valley’s Leilani Moncrease shots up the put back as time winds down. NorCal’s No. 1 Diablo Valley defeats SoCal’s No. 1 Moorpark 68-61. #CCCAA pic.twitter.com/ObJEEqFPjZ

— Moorpark Reporter (@MoorparkReport) March 18, 2019

“[My team] made a run, [the Vikings] sustained it, we did all we could,” Rangel said. “It was in reach, they just had a better night tonight, which is ok. But I’m so proud of [my team], they did so incredible, especially me being out and them playing as well as they did, I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”

Outstanding Statistics

Diablo Valley:

3 Daisha Abdelkader: 6 rebounds, 9 assists

11 Leilani Moncrease: 13 rebounds

21 Zahria Hendrix: 12 rebounds, 3pt FGs: 4-6, 12 points

22 Sierra Smith: 11 points

30 Jahnay Anderson: 3pt FGs: 7-12, 21 points

Moorpark:

10 Emily Herring: 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 12 points on 5-7 FGA

21 Jazmin Carrasco: 7 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 3pt FGs: 4-10, 15 points

22 Breanna Calhoun: 4 steals, 7 turnovers, 23 points on 8-17 FGA

42 Barbara Rangel: 8 rebounds, 8 points in two quarters and six minutes.

33 Kristen Sullivan: 5 rebounds

15 Mia Moore: 2 blocks