The Valley Oak League title was not in the mind of East Union players and coaches Tuesday when they traveled to Kimball for their regular-season capper.
Coming off their shocking loss to last-place Central Catholic, the Lancers just wanted to play their best game heading into the playoffs.
They got what they wanted and more, taking care of Kimball 62-45 for a piece of their fourth straight VOL championship.
East Union (8-2 VOL, 23-5 overall) went into the league finale a game back of Manteca, thanks to the defeat at Central Catholic, but Sierra upset Manteca on Tuesday to force a tie at the top of the standings.
Nylah Dyson paced the Lancers with 18 points.
“We weren’t even thinking about that,” EU coach Jim Agostini said. “This was the hardest game of the year for us. We had our two hardest practices after we had what was probably one of the worst losses in my tenure.
“We weren’t thinking about the final outcome (of the Sierra-Manteca game). We just wanted to beat Kimball and try to get the best spot we could in the (Sac-Joaquin) Section rankings.”
East Union jumped out to a 17-8 lead, and after a dominant 17-5 third quarter the Lancers led 51-30 at the start of the fourth.
Donnese Payne, who missed the Central Catholic game, contributed 12 points. Zyondupree Beasley added 11 points, Mariela Navarro had nine and Ava Barrera eight.
Sierra Tuliau and Emma Coronado paced Kimball (6-3, 16-10) with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
“I’m excited for our team,” Agostini said. “We’ve taken some blows this season and went through some adversity, so to come out and play our best game of the year I’m extremely proud of them.”
Riverbank 62, Ripon Christian 46
Maddie Yonker netted 22 points, five rebounds and four steals, but it wasn’t enough for the Knights (5-6, 13-11 overall) to overcome one of the top teams in the Trans-Valley League on the road.
Reagan Vander Hoek contributed seven points, nine rebounds, three steals and a block.
Ripon Christian ends the regular season Thursday at home against rival Ripon.
GIRLS SOCCER
Lathrop 2, Beyer 1
Lathrop hosted its senior night match at Johansen High, where the Spartans (7-3-4, 10-7-4 overall) had to at least tie to secure their second postseason appearance.
Beyer (5-6-3, 6-12-3) was the first to score in the Western Athletic Conference finale, but Morgan Penko answered with a brace to propel Lathrop to the win.
Lathrop’s second-place finish in the WAC is the best in program history.
Ripon 8, Riverbank 0
It was all Indians (9-1, 14-8-1) in the regular-season finale at Riverbank (1-7-2, 2-17-5), as they captured a share of their fifth Trans-Valley League title.
Rylee Agbayani spearheaded the onslaught with a hat trick, scoring in the second, 18th and 50th minutes. Olivia Maragos tallied two goals and assisted Emily Paxton’s. Malia Locarnini contributed a goal and two assists, and Katie Martin pitched in with one goal and one assist. Kaya Whitaker had two assists.
Goalie Leilani Torres kept the sheet clean with two saves.
JV girls soccer
Lathrpp 3, Beyer 0
Ariana Garcia accounted for all three of the Spartans’ goals. Lathrop wrapped up first place in the WAC for a second straight year.
Frosh girls basketball
Lathrop 37, Mountain House 30
Hazel Beltran led the attack with 15 points, while Taylor Rios had nine points, nine rebounds and two steals.
