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Engel, Heida anchor RC win
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RIPON — Ripon Christian’s girls basketball team leaned on the inside presence of Renae Heida and perimeter accuracy of Kelly Engel to get over the hump against visiting Summerville on Friday.
They keyed pivotal scoring runs in the second and third quarters, and the Knights held on for the 44-38 victory.
“Those two carried us when we made those runs,” Ripon Christian coach Ed Mulder said. “We also rebounded well and played good defense.”
Engel led all scorers with 14 points while sinking four shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Heida, meanwhile, scrapped her way to 13 points and 10 boards. Ripon Christian (6-5), which had dropped four of its previous five contests, trailed 10-7 after the opening period but used a 34-point barrage to carry a 41-30 lead into the fourth
The Bears (6-8), who were led by Serafina Peterson’s nine points, were held to single digits in the final two quarters.
Ripon Christian next hosts Mercy of Burlingame next Wednesday for the start of its three-day tournament.

Turlock 57,
Manteca 23
Manteca stayed within reach of the undefeated Bulldogs (8-0), down 16-10 after a quarter of play at Winter Gymnasium.
And then Turlock was well ahead in a flash. Behind a stifling defense, the Bulldogs used a 17-2 surge in the second quarter and continued to roll for another win.
“They’re relentless on defense,” Manteca coach Ryan Bono said. “They get after you with their full-court press and we couldn’t handle their pressure. We had a lot of good looks in the second quarter we just could not finish.”
Sarah Inderbitzin led the Buffaloes (5-4) with eight points, while Turlock’s Hope Salsig was the lone double-digit scorer with 17.

Livingston 49, Sierra 45
Sierra (4-4) was ahead 24-15 at halftime before letting it slip away. Livingston (5-5) took control in the second half and outscored the Timberwolves 18-9 in the fourth quarter.
Livingston standout Annie Winton had nine points at halftime but scored 10 in the second half on free throws. Sierra was paced by Lindsey Walljasper’s 15 points with eight more coming from Raiann Prieto.
“Tonight was tough,” Sierra coach Larissa Founts-Bergerson said. “Not just to lose, but the way the game changed in the second half. We have to learn to not leave any game close enough for calls to affect our game. Good or bad, we have to finish our game. The girls played through the calls, but there was only so much we could do.”

Varsity boys
Livingston 49, Sierra 45
STOCKTON — The Timberwolves (4-7) got another shot at Lincoln (11-0) in the Trojan Christmas Classic on Friday, only this time Cal-bound forward Andre Kelly was around to impact the game.
The 6-foot-8 senior, who did not play in the first clash between these two teams in the McDonald’s Classic, erupted for 19 points, and the host Trojans got 15 apiece from Ezekiel Holman and Josh Bratcher.
John Elijah and Jalen Jackson had nine and eight points, respectively, for Sierra, which trailed 17-3 after the first quarter and was burned for a 20-5 run in the third. “Starting the first and third quarters are continuing to be a problem for us,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “Give Lincoln credit. They were tougher than us and better than us.”
Sierra plays for third place against Edison tonight at 6.

Tokay 68, Lathrop 64
STOCKTON — It was tied at 49-49 going into the fourth before Tokay (3-10) pulled away in the Trojan Christmas Classic consolation tilt.
Lathrop’s Colin Weis led all scorers with 26 points, and Isaiah Victor added 16. Rogelio Herrera and Mohammad Ibrahim turned in 16 and 14 for the Tigers.
The Spartans (2-9) are in the seventh-place game today starting at 3.

Ripon Christian 78, Orestimba 32
NEWMAN — All 11 Knights contributed with points, and they held Orestimba (4-7) to just four and two points in the final two periods of a nonleague blowout.
Ripon Christian (6-4) had its way in the post, with Andrew Vander Weide pouring in 23 points and Jacob Vander Hoek adding 12.

Freshman boys
East Union 61, Patterson 40
Ethan Godoy spearheaded a balanced scoring effort for the Lancers in their nonleague contest at Dalben Center on Thursday. Ryland Torres chipped in with 10.