The Valley Vista Monsoon, for the third straight season and fifth time in six years, are the queens of the 6A conference after defeating the Perry Pumas 68-46 in the championship game.
The lower-seeded Pumas did give the Monsoon fits in the first half. By attacking the man-to-man defense of the Monsoon, it forced senior leaders Mikela Cooper and Oregon commit Jennah Isai into foul trouble and onto the bench for stretches while the Pumas kept it close.
But in the second half the Monsoon adjusted their defense to their patented pack line system, which forced the Pumas into bad shots and multiple turnovers as Isai, Cooper, junior Hannah Young and sophomore Jocelyn Chavez dominated both sides of the court.
The pack line defense gave the state fits this season as the Monsoon rolled through their in-state competition finishing 20-0 winning by an average of 50 points per game.
Out-of-state competition early in the season, however, is what gave the Monsoon the lessons they needed to roll through the state for another title, according to head coach Rachel Matakas.
“Great teams are going to expose your weaknesses early … when you take a loss or a tough win it opens your eyes to what you need to get better,” said Matakas
Two of the five out-of-state losses for the Monsoon came to nationally ranked No. 2 Etiwanda and No. 8 Sierra Canyon.
By taking those tough losses early in the season, it gave the Monsoon another reminder of the mantra they adopted for the season, “no excuses” and Matakas explained why that became the phrase of the season.
“People like to come up with excuses for everything now, I wanted the girls to know that we’re going to work hard and not give excuses for mistakes we make or losses we may have,” she said.
“No excuses” could also be considered the battle cry for Matakas herself.
Late in August, Matakas was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer and just a few days later she suffered a heart attack. But through those challenging moments and two heart surgeries, Matakas has used her faith to power through the hard times.
“God always has my back, I think it’s important to share the message to these kids that when faced with adversity that human factor is not as strong as God factor,” Matakas said.
While knowing she still has surgery ahead for her cancer she feels safe knowing that it is in God’s hands.
“We’re going to go in and get this done and I know God has my back when it’s all said and done,” said Matakas.
Faith helped Matakas through her challenges and faith helped the Monsoon grow as a team and learn the lessons needed to become a championship team once again. But the lessons learned this year won’t leave their sides now that the season is done, rather it will be with them long after basketball.
