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CIF Girls Basketball Champions: A Glance Back With Coach Scott Richards

Murrieta Valley Head Coach Scott Richards shares a few thoughts on the Nighthawks' Championship victory.

The Murrieta Valley Nighthawks brought home the first girls CIF Southern Section Division 2A Championship in the school’s history. Coach Scott Richards had these comments.

“We were able to have multiple players contribute across the board. The team has really peaked at the right time of the season and we’ve been shooting over 40 percent from the field throughout the post season. It was unbelievably exciting to see them accomplish that feat again last night in a CIF Championship game.”

Asked about the team playing in a larger stadium, Richards commented, “We had a lot of discussions about the arena leading up to the game. I even took pictures of the court during the coaches’ and AD’s mandatory meeting on Wednesday up at the Convention Center so that I could show the girls some visuals.

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“I truly believed that the championship game could easily come down to which team was better adapted to the environment and who could live in the moment the best.”

“Some of the CIF officials told me pregame that we should be ready for a very rough shooting first quarter. They said that some of the best shooters they’ve seen were firing up air balls the day before trying to get used to the vastness and depth of the arena. It was great to see Ariana go out there and drain a 3 with nothing but net as our first basket. It really calmed the nerves of our team down.”

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“We were able to have multiple players contribute across the board. The team has really peaked at the right time of the season and we’ve been shooting over 40 percent from the field throughout the post season. It was unbelievably exciting to see them accomplish that feat again last night in a CIF Championship game.”

“Free throws played another key role for us last night. We started off the season not shooting well from the charity stripe and we talked about how some games would be won and lost throughout this season based on how well we made our free throws. We made eight out of 10 in just the 4th quarter last night. After the game I reminded them of our conversation and said you just won the biggest game!”

The Nighthawks now prepare for the CIF State Tournament that begins Wednesday.

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