You can make room in the Desert Hot Springs High sports record book for the 2025-26 Golden Eagles’ girls’ basketball team.
With a 50-39 home win over Channel Islands on Wednesday night, this year’s DHS team has advanced to the Division 9 semifinals, a feat never accomplished by any previous girls’ basketball team in school history.
The Golden Eagles rode the hot hand of Nyna Crawford with 19 points and Maribell Cervantes who had 12 points six steals, four assists and four rebounds in the win.
“The chemistry those two have on the court is just insane it’s like telepathy,” said head coach Vanessa Alvarado. “Once you see the smiles on their faces, the team knows they got something up their sleeve.”
But like any team that strings together three straight playoff wins, it’s a total team effort. Center Kyra Bufanda drew accolades from her coach for making a statement with 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Wednesday’s game was close throughout, played entirely in a six-point range, before DHS pulled away in the final five minutes of the game.
“We got off to a rough start tonight, but during halftime we had one of our family talks, and we went out in the third quarter hungry and brought it home in the fourth,” Alvarado said.
That same pattern could also describe the Golden Eagles’ season. A rough start but a ferocious finish.
The team lost their first eight games of the year, but then finished the season on a 9-1 run including a perfect 9-0 blitz through the Sun Valley League. They finished the regular season 9-9 and had not beaten any team outside their league until the playoffs started, but now they’ve beaten three non-league opponents in a row.
“These girls have been working so hard for this all year, and we had a tough pre-league season, but told them trust me it will pay off in the end,” Alvarado said. “They trusted me and never gave up on themselves, each other or the game. I’m beyond proud of the dedication these girls have poured out.”
The Golden Eagles advanced to the Division 9 semifinals where they will face Vista Del Lago on the road Saturday, one step from a CIF-SS finals appearance.
Desert Hot Springs is the last valley girls’ basketball team standing, as the desert’s other two girls’ teams that had advanced to the quarterfinals lost on Wednesday. Palm Desert saw a great season end with a 45-37 loss at Savanna in Division 6. Yucca Valley dropped a close one on the road to University Prep 45-41 in Division 8.
CIF-SS results and schedule
TUESDAY’S BOYS’ BASKETBALL
TUESDAY’S BOYS’ SOCCER
WEDNESDAY’S GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY’S GIRLS’ SOCCER
SATURDAY’S GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
SATURDAY’S GIRLS’ SOCCER
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Desert Hot Springs girls’ basketball makes history, into semifinals
Reporting by Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
