Manteca High set the tone early on in Tuesday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III opener.
The No. 4-seeded Buffaloes jumped out to a 16-0 lead over visiting Los Banos, winning rather convincingly, 59-30.
“I was pleased on we started out – we played with intensity,” said Manteca coach Ryan Bono.
Syd’Nee Fryer and Loretta Kakala fueled the attack. Fryer scored seven of her game-high 16 points in that early run – she also had eight steals and six rebounds – while Louisville-bound Kakala kicked in with 13 points, 10 boards and four blocks.
“It was our defense that got our offense flowing,” Fryer said.
She opened with a quick bucket followed by 3-point basket and an elbow jumper. By the time the No. 13 Tigers hit their first field goal – Amelia Smith’s two came at the 1:53 mark of the first quarter – the Buffaloes (17-10) had the game well under control.
Kakala closed out period by converting a three-point play.
Ahead 25-5 at the top of the second thanks to Selena Lopez’s 3, Manteca kept the Tigers (14-14) in check.
Bono, for one, was proud of his team’s defense.
“Defense wins championships but offense puts butts in the seats,” he said.
Kakala delivered a no-look pass to Chandler Nieman for two and then broke the press with a drive to the hoop.
Malia Parangan finished off the half with a steal and an and-1 basket on the other end.
Los Banos showed some fight early in the second half with Erika Gutierrez hit a pair of 3s and Monica Nino adding a trey.
“They’re feisty,” said Fryer of the Tigers. “They’re a super-quick team in going for the rebounds and playing defense.”
By then, the Buffaloes had built a 44-24 lead.
Similar to Parangan, Fryer ended the third with a steal and a drive, resulting into a three-point play to give her team a 49-24 edge.
Parangan finished with seven points, six rebounds and a steal. Simran Kaur had a pair of steals while playing solid defense.
Manteca will play No. 5 Kimball on Thursday at Winter Gym. The Valley Oak League’s top two teams split their games in the regular season, and the Buffaloes held on to capture the outright championship. Tip-off for the rubber match is 7 p.m.

To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.