With Escalon struggling to get shots to fall for much of the night, an unlikely hero emerged to help resuscitate the offense in the fourth quarter of a Trans-Valley League girls basketball game Thursday at Ripon Christian.

Junior guard Sofia Brasil hit a 3-pointer from the left corner just seconds after entering the game for the first time and later sank the dagger from nearly the same spot, as the Cougars held on for the 40-34 victory.

“Those shots were huge,” Escalon coach Joe Dalpogetti said. “I just applauded her in the locker room in front of the whole team. Those were her first minutes of the game.

“At times, we were searching for something when making our substitutions, and we were looking or some offense. She came in and gave us that. She was the spark off the bench that we needed tonight. I think it just speaks volumes about how engaged she is when she’s on the bench where she can come into the game and contribute right off the bat.”

Macie Vickers led them with 13 points and eight rebounds. Kelsey Webster knocked down two straight 3s in the third quarter and finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Point guard Sammy Lang added seven points, 12 rebounds and three assists.

Maddie Yonker, who averages close to 20 points for Ripon Christian (0-1 TVL, 8-5 overall), was limited to 10 points and seven rebounds.

“With nights like tonight when your offense is kind of non-existent, your defense could travel with you everywhere you go,” Dalpogetti said, adding that his squad made just 25% of its shots from the field. “We know Maddie is a very good player — I think she’s one of the best players in the league, if not the whole area, so we knew we have to limit her productivity.

“We tried not to help off her that much, and then (Faith) Fasani got hot early in the game, so we had to do what we had to do to deny her the ball a little bit, as well.

Fasani, a freshman, made three 3s for her nine points to buoy the Knights early on. Reagan Van Der Hoek added eight points and 10 rebounds, while fellow sophomore Cailyn Mouw had seven points and seven boards.

“Everybody contributed,” Ripon Christian coach Mike Vander Molen said. “They were not going to make Maddie beat them, and some other girls stepped up. Faith had a great first half. To get a triangle-and-2 (defense) for a freshman, that’s a lot of respect.”

Coming off a heartbreaking 58-56 loss to Riverbank in its TVL opener on Tuesday, Escalon (1-1, 10-5) appeared to be on its way to running away with the win early in the fourth quarter at Ripon Christian. Brasil’s first 3-pointer stretched Escalon’s lead to double digits for the first time, 33-23, with 6:12 remaining. Analise Silveira (six points, three steals) hit a 3 of her own a minute later.

Then Ripon Christian came alive.

Yonker made two free throws to jump start a 9-1 surge that included a 3 and a fastbreak layup from Mouw. Yonker struck again, attacking the basket to close the Knights in 37-34 with 1:13 to go.

“I was super proud for a young team to not fold,” Vander Molen said. “Making that comeback at the end really got my attention. To see them continue to play and to do what they did in the fourth quarter, for a young team it’s hard to coach that, and it’s good to see that they have that in them.

“We all hate losing, but it was a great step in the right direction.”

Dalpogetti was also proud of how his team responded.

Ripon Christian’s late flurry was answered by Brasil’s back-breaking 3 with 58 seconds left, and the Cougars clamped down defensively the rest of the way to close it out.

“We’ve put up 70-plus several times this year, so it was an off night for us,” Dalpogetti said. “We still got the job done. In the TVL, every night is tough. All the coaches know each other very well, we know what the game plan is, so it’s always tough sledding.

“Just proud of the girls for what they did tonight. We had a brutal loss on Tuesday, and I’m glad that we were to get back on the winning side tonight.”