GIRLS’ BASKETBALL DIVISION IV : Holtville Seniors Complete Wardrobe, Roll Past Coronado

Holtville senior Teresa Ibarra just wanted one more basketball championship patch to sew on her letterman jacket.

“I needed a third patch to fill up my sleeve,” she said.

She got it Friday when Holtville defeated Coronado, 57-31, in the San Diego Section Division IV girls’ basketball final at Golden Hall.

Holtville went into the game as two-time Division IV defending champion, having defeated Coronado by 24 and 13 points in previous finals. But Friday’s game was expected to be closer. In the second game of the season, Holtville (18-9) defeated Coronado (14-11) by just five after Coronado had built a 10-point lead.

“I thought it would be a two- or three-point ball game either way,” Holtville Coach Mike Pacheco said. “It was great to have a game like this. It makes my job easier.”

Coronado trailed by 18, 41-23, at the end of the third quarter and did not score again until three minutes remained. The Islanders were outscored, 16-8, in the fourth quarter. Their leading scorer, Kris Skaalan, managed just eight points.

“He (Coronado Coach Ernie Dickerson) has seen our press,” Pacheco said. “We pressed them the last time, and that’s how we won. They didn’t look as ready or prepared for the press as I thought they would be. Maybe he was prepared, and it just didn’t work. We tried to throw them with a two-three zone and never went to a man-to-man.”

Holtville took a 12-6 first-quarter lead and then broke the game open, making it 31-11 by halftime. Senior Denise Gaddis scored nine of her 11 points in the first half.

Ibarra, a 5-1 guard, worked hard for her patch. She scored 21 points, including two three-pointers in the second quarter and two more, on consecutive shots, in the fourth. Ibarra said she doesn’t concentrate on shooting from that range.

“Whenever I have an open shot I shoot,” she said. “He (Pacheco) always tells me I never shoot enough and to shoot more.”

Said Pacheco: “Teresa delivered like a senior should. It didn’t surprise me that she led the team today. Too bad she’s not 6-1.”