Valley Women Eliminated in Semifinal

SACRAMENTO — Valley College finally ran out of rallies in its most important basketball game of the season .

With LaNell Ellison coming off the bench to score 15 points, including 13 in the second half, Santa Rosa defeated the Lady Monarchs, 65-59, Friday night in the semifinals of the state junior college women’s tournament at American River College.

Valley had come back the night before to defeat Merritt, 56-54, on a basket by Bernadette Tillis with three seconds left. But even a pair of late three-point shots by Tillis could not help this time.

Valley, the Southern California Conference co-champion, ended the season at 28-4.

Santa Rosa plays for the championship at 7 tonight against Long Beach, which advanced with a 74-69 victory over Golden West.

It was a two-point game until Santa Rosa went on 9-0 run keyed by Ellison, who had 7 of the points. The surge gave Santa Rosa a 47-38 lead with 11:20 left.

“We stopped being as aggressive as we would’ve liked to be during the run,” Valley Coach Doug Michelson said. “We tried to make some adjustments, but they are just a very good team.”

Valley, which suited up only seven players, also seemed a little tired late in the game. Forward Ruth Aguilar fouled out with 10:20 left. Three of the other four starters also played with four fouls for at least three minutes.

“The fouls were certainly a factor,” Michelson said. “But we finished the game with five quality players on the court.’

Valley started a rally with Santa Rosa leading, 57-45, with 4:28 left.