Tulare Union girls basketball punches ticket to championship game
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The Tulare Union High School girls basketball team will join the boys squad at Selland Arena next weekend for the 2026 Central Section championships in Fresno.
The third-ranked Tribe girls upset two-seed Atascadero 43-26 in the semifinals on Feb. 20 to earn a trip to this season's Central Section Division IV title game. They will now play No. 1 Torres (24-6) in the championship game.
A day before, the No. 1 Tulare Union boys outlasted fifth-seed Kingsburg 54-50 to punch their ticket to the Central Section Division III final. The section's high school basketball championships will be played on Feb. 27-28.
Tulare Union is the only Tulare County school to advance both of its basketball teams to the section's championship games.
"That's amazing," Tulare Union girls' head coach Monica Diaz said.
In Tulare Union's third straight girls playoff victory, the Tribe (22-7) raced to a 19-1 lead and never looked back.
Senior forward Jazzy Miller led the way with 14 points, scoring four in the first quarter, six in the third, and four in the fourth.
Senior Kayloni Cox netted 12 points, draining three triples.
The Tribe also received points from Karla Gomez (two), Jia Freitas (two), Kaiden Valdez (nine), and DeAwnee Akins (four).
"These kids wanted to win," Diaz said. "They had energy. They wanted to win. They were bringing it. These kids have worked really hard. It all started in the offseason — to be able to get to Selland, to be able to have a team that you work with continuously, and get them prepared, get them going, it's special. Our kids are fast."
Tulare Union opened the playoffs on Valentine's Day, defeating No. 14 Reedley 29-24 in the first round. Then on Feb. 18, the Tribe continued the momentum with a 38-31 quarterfinal victory against sixth-seed Templeton.
Tulare Union will be making only its second trip to a section final. In 2023, the Tribe enjoyed a Cinderella run as the 13th seed, advancing to the Division IV section title game, but fell 32-31 to No. 6 Lompoc.
Three years later, Tulare Union is headed back to Selland Arena — the home site of the Central Section basketball championships.
"It's truly amazing," Diaz said. "It's surreal."
Exeter 50, Fowler 37: The No. 3 Monarchs (21-11) advance to the Central Section Division VI championship game and will play fourth-ranked Foothill (17-9).
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare Union basketball teams both advance to Central Section finals