The Manteca High girls varsity basketball squad’s defense was a big part of the offense Thursday against Atwater in the opening round action of the Ceres Tournament.

“Much of our scoring came off our press,” said Buffaloes coach Andrea Hiatt after her team’s impressive 68-25 victory.

Karleasha Thompson, Mikayla Hasal and Jasmine Odell had eight steals each for the Buffaloes (4-0), with most of the turnovers going for layups, according to Hiatt.

“We didn’t need to shoot 3s today,” she added.

Thompson finished with a game-high 14 points and eight rebounds. Hasal chipped in with 11 points and six assists, Mia Ramirez hit for 10, and Odell finished with nine points and eight boards.

“We really pulled away in the third (with a 28-7 run),” Hiatt said. “We picked up our intensity.”

The Buffaloes will play host Ceres at 7:30 p.m. today.

Ripon 41, Bear River 33

The Indians suffered their first loss of the young season, falling to the Bruins in first-round action of the Liberty Ranch tournament.

Tia Sidtikun and Kelsey Alexander, who also had eight rebounds, led Ripon with 10 points each.

Ruth Waters chipped in with eight while Miranda Cardenas added three.

The Indians (4-1) will return to Liberty Ranch in Galt to face the loser of the Argonaut / Capital Christian game at 5 p.m.

Tracy 39, Lathrop 35

The Spartans fell short in their fourth-quarter rally in the non-league game played at Tracy.

Lathrop’s undoing came in the third, with the Bulldogs putting together a 17-5 run after the break.

“They found cracks in our defense and were able to score on layups,” said Spartans coach Ed Fang.

Jazlyn Simon had 12 points, four assists and two steals to lead Lathrop. Celine Desantis chipped in with eight points and three boards while Loreal Taylor added six points and eight rebounds.

The Indians will take on Consumes Oaks in next Tuesday’s Elk Grove tournament. Tipoff for the first-round game is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Sophomores

Tracy 49, Lathrop 47

The Bulldogs rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter of the non-league game.

The Spartans (6-1) led through most of the game. But in the final three minutes, they made costly errors, allowing for the Tracy comeback.

Taylor Conley was Lathrop’s top scorer with 15 points. She also connected on 9 of her 11 free throws.

Aquila Leslie added 13 and Janessa Alejandro had nine.

Alejandro, Leslie, and Brianna Fernandez also helped out on defense, coming up with steals.

Lathrop will take on Tokay in the Dec. 28 non-league game.

Weston Ranch 68, Patterson 53

Alyah Thomas had 17 points and Courtney Brown kicked in with 13 for the Cougars in the Modesto Christian Crusaders tournament.

Weston Ranch 51, Livingston 40

Brianna White had 14 points in the Cougars’ other win at the Modesto Christian tourney.

Freshmen

Lathrop 40, Tracy 26

Lauren Collins led the Spartans with 13 points. Perla Fernandez added seven while Ithzel Valdez and Asianya Jones had six and four points, respectively.

Lathrop improved to 4-3 in non-league play.