Sonoma's championship season comes to a close

Sonoma Lady Dragons head coach Sil Coccia called his team into a huddle during a timeout with 10 seconds to go in the Dragons’ NCS Division II quarterfinal match-up against Northgate of Walnut Creek Friday night, with the score reading 50-40 in favor of his opponents. “I told them I didn’t have a 10-point play,” Coccia said.
When the buzzer sounded, the #2 Broncos had defeated #7 Sonoma, but they had to endure a Dragons team that did not quit from beginning to end. Northgate led by 10 at the end of the first quarter, and then led by 16 at the end of three quarters.
But Sonoma stormed back thanks to fantastic interior passing and clutch rebounding that led to putbacks and layups, and didn’t allow Northgate any breathing room on the offensive end, continuing to put the pressure on the team ranked 15th in Northern California. A jumper by Sheila Brady cut the lead to six with 2:46 to play.
After a timeout, the Broncos were able to hold on to the ball for the next 56 seconds thanks to a couple of offensive rebounds. With the time winding down, Coccia elected to foul the Broncos into the bonus, and with that, sent Bronco junior Kelly Peterson to the line. She hit her last seven free throws down the stretch, finishing with 16 points, putting the Lady Dragons away.
Brady, Steph Sevilla, and Sarah Semenero, the three seniors and tri-captains of the Lady Dragons, played their final game in a Dragons uniform. Semenero led Sonoma with 15 points, and did a masterful job defending Peterson, the taller junior superstar.
Sevilla added six points, all in the first half, and Sheila Brady added seven, as she battled through early foul trouble to be a key addition to the Dragons’ run in the final minutes. Junior Daryn Kelley had 10 points and eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, all in the second half, as she and junior Ashley Meyers proved to be key contributors. Meyers had six rebounds herself.
Sophomore Courtney Hamilton had 17 points for Northgate to lead the Broncos, who will now travel to Santa Rosa on Wednesday night to take on the North Bay League champion Maria Carrillo Pumas. Maria Carrillo moved to 28-1 on the season with a 47-39 win over Redwood of Novato Friday night. The winner will move on to Oracle Arena in Oakland on Saturday, March 1 for the NCS Division II championship.
Sonoma finished the season at 21-7 overall, with the loss ending an 11-game winning streak that included the Lady Dragons clinching their first Sonoma County League championship since 1984. The 21 wins also tie the school record for most wins in a season with the 1980 Lady Dragons. Semenero finished the season as the Sonoma County League MVP, with Brady and Sevilla making the league’s “Top 10” list.
Fittingly, Coccia was named SCL Coach of the Year, as he guided a program-defining season for the Lady Dragons. Taking over after the 2004-05 season, Coccia took that 2-win squad and posted a 5-win season the next year in 2005-06, followed by an 11-win season last year.
After the final game, he reflected on the three seniors who had meant the most to this year’s team. “It’s going to be hard to replace those girls, especially Number 12 (Semenero),” Coccia said, “They are all great girls and I’m going to miss them.”