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BASKETBALL: Sierra girls cagers complete season sweep of Oakdale
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The Sierra High girls basketball team secured a season sweep of visiting Oakdale with a commanding 66-41 win on Wednesday and is now setting its sights on the Valley Oak League’s championship contenders.
The Timberwolves (2-6, 12-10 overall) have cross-town rivals Manteca and East Union remaining on their schedule the next two weeks. Both Manteca and East Union are locked in a three-way race for the VOL title with Kimball.
“If we play like we did tonight we’ll upset some teams, and my girls are ready to do that,” Sierra coach Larissa Founts-Bergerson said.
Inessa Villanueva and Dulce Cruz nearly outscored Oakdale (1-8, 13-12) themselves. A sophomore point forward, Villanueva accumulated 20 points that included one made 3-pointer and a 5-of-7 effort from the free-throw line.
Power forward Cruz anchored Sierra in the post, finishing with 19 points. The Timberwolves started hot with a 21-point barrage followed by a 17-6 second quarter that gave them a 38-21 halftime lead.

Central Catholic 50, Weston Ranch 46
STOCKTON — The host Cougars (2-6 VOL, 9-13 overall) were done in by a lopsided discrepancy in fouls.
They were tagged for 37 fouls against just 13 for Central Catholic (3-6, 16-9), which finished 21 of 39 on free throws. Weston Ranch made three of its 11 attempts from the foul line.
“That didn’t help our cause,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Bauer said. “Our kids battled and had chances in the end but we could not take advantage of our opportunities.”
The Raiders’ Tessa Gallo led all scorers with 18 points. Jennalyn Laminero poured in 16 for Weston Ranch, and Kyshanti King contributed 13.

Varsity boys
Ripon Christian 62, Livingston 47

LIVINGSTON — Ripon Christian (9-0, 17-7 overall) resumed its undefeated march in the Trans-Valley League by pulling away from the Wolves (2-7, 10-15) in the second half.
The Knights nursed a 23-22 halftime lead before breaking it open with an 18-9 third quarter. Cade Alger ended with a game-high 24 points, Will Gilbert added 12 and Caleb Terpsma had 10. Livingston’s Sunny Takhar and Cooper Winton tallied 15 and 13, respectively.

Lathrop 66, Grace Davis 50
LATHROP — Noah Thierry fired 17 points and was complemented by a pair of sophomores as the Spartans (7-4, 15-8) kept their Sac-Joaquin Section playoff hopes alive with three games to go.
Their next two Western Athletic Conference contests are against first-place Mountain House and Los Banos, which already have double-digit victories over Lathrop.
Center Eddie Cotton contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds against Grace Davis. C.J. Ward pitched in 13 points and 10 boards.