TRACY — East Union’s postseason fate now hinges on a coinflip and computer rankings.
The Lancers girls basketball team battled Valley Oak League co-champion tough for three quarters before falling 72-55 on Tuesday.
They were able to take their final lead early in the third quarter before San Jose State signee Raziya Potter and the Jaguars (13-1 VOL, 22-5 overall) took over. Potter scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, while fourth-year guard Pearl Bautista finished with 16, pouring in 13 in the first two periods.
“We just had a difficult time with Bautista and Potter,” East Union coach Jim Agostini said. “They are two of the better players in our league.”
Kayla Montoya spearheaded the more balanced Lancers (9-5, 15-11) with 12 points. Donja Payne and Julia Vezaldenos each had 10, Destiny Torio had nine and Hailey Gosney eight.
“I was very pleased with how we played offensively,” Agostini said. “Defensively we just had a pretty tough task for us tonight.”
East Union and Manteca cap regular-season play tied for third in the VOL, and with only three automatic berths to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs a coinflip will determine which team gets the No. 3 spot. The loser of the coinflip can still advance with an at-large bid, which goes to any team that finishes in the top-12 of the SJS Division III rankings, according to MaxPreps.
East Union is currently ranked No. 11, while Manteca is seventh. The section will release postseason brackets Thursday at around 4 p.m. with a live online selection show via the NFHS Network.