TRACY – East Union outscored Carson of Carson City 21-6 in the fourth quarter Saturday to pull away for a 53-31 win and the consolation championship of the Tracy Breakfast Lions/Tom Hawkins Girls Basketball Tournament at Tracy High’s Swenson gym.
“It’s all about defense,” Lancers coach Jim Agostini said. “Defense all the way. You get a chance to play four days in a row here and work on your defense and I thought our defense got better with each game in the tournament.
“And to come out of it with the consolation championship – I like that.”
East Union (9-5) had two girls with double-doubles – Ala Tuuga with 14 points and 12 rebounds and all-tournament selection Donja Payne with 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Nina Murphy added 13 points and seven assists and Lauren Pablo chipped in eight points and six rebounds.
“We played good defense,” Tuuga said. “And that led to a lot of fast breaks for us.”
The Senators’ Bella Kordonowy led all scorers with 20 points.
The Lancers host Weston Ranch on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to start the Valley Oak League campaign.
7th place
Ripon 49, Orestimba 43
All-tournament selection Reina Sausedo shot the lights out for the Indians (8-5) with 21 points along with seven rebounds and four assists to help Ripon finish the tournament at 2-2.
Tianna Sidtikun added 12 points and six rebounds and Mackenzie Hutchinson (six points) and Sydney Thomason (four points) pulled down eight rebounds each.
“It was a good win for us tonight to finish the tournament on a positive note,” Indians coach Rick Inderbitzin said. “Tianna Sidtikun had a good game tonight to go along with Sydney Thomason and Mackenzie Hutchinson who had eight rebounds apiece.”
Jade Robinson led the Warriors of Newman (6-7) with 16 points.
Ripon travels to Riverbank for a Trans-Valley League contest Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
11th Place
Sierra 50, Weston Ranch 40
After building a commanding 37-16 halftime lead, the Timberwolves coasted to a win and even their tournament effort at 2-2.
“We knew going into any team from the VOL it would be a 50-50 gamble,” Sierra coach Larissa Founts-Bergerson said. “We knew it was going to be like that when we played East Union on Friday and today against Weston Ranch. We were just hoping that our shots and free throws were going to fall, and luckily they fell in our favor today.
“We know every time we play them it’s going to be a tough game. It’s the VOL – that’s how it’s going to be. But I am proud of the girls.”
Dulce Cruz helped the Timberwolves to their first half lead when she scored 11 of her 17 points in the first two quarters. Inessa Villanueva added 13 points and Jordan Hayter 12.
“We really came together and were able to support each other and pick each other up when we were down,” Cruz said. “It was a good team effort.”
Cougars coach Chris Bauer was pleased with his team’s play in the second half.
“We couldn’t get the lid off of the basket to start,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Bauer said. “We missed point-blank layups and point-blank jump shots. We were just wide open and we missed. When you dig a hole that deep and you can’t get the lid off of the basket it makes it that hard to come back.
“The girls effort the second half was huger. Their heart was huge – everything was huge, we just didn’t finish. But we have these guys two more times and that’s a beautiful thing right there. Hopefully we will be able to make a few more next time.”
Kyshanti King led the Cougars (7-6) with 10 points.
Sierra and Weston Ranch both begin VOL play Wednesday at 7 p.m. with the Timberwolves hosting Kimball of Tracy and the Cougars traveling to East Union.
Ripon Christian 54, West 37
The tournament host Knights (9-5) ran their lead to 41-22 after three quarters before the Wolf Pack (7-9) kept pace in the final period of the third-place game of the 25th Annual Ripon Christian Girls Basketball Tournament.
“We did a really good job of taking their shooters away,” Ripon Christian coach Ed Mulder said. “They only have a few good shooters and they like to drive to the basket. We did a good job of moving our feet and not getting any reaching fouls. We stopped their penetration.
“They rebound the ball pretty well and we did a good job of keeping them off the boards. And Morgan (Van Elderen) had 15 rebounds and that was huge. She did a great job in the bottom of our zone getting rebounds and then pushing the ball up the floor.”
Sarah Brown (three assists, two steals) led the Knights with 12 points behind four 3-pointers and all-tournament selection Taylor Anema (three rebounds, assist, steal) had 11 points. Van Elderen added nine points and flirted with a triple-double at 15 rebounds and nine assists. Rilee Clark chipped in eight points.
Dream Rodriguez led West with 11 points.
Ripon Christian takes to the road Thursday afternoon to face Escalon in a TVL game at 2:30.
Boys basketball
Sierra 75, McNair 29
The Timberwolves (12-2) held the visiting Eagles of Stockton (7-7) to single digits in each quarter of their pre-league finale.
John Elijah led Sierra with 14 points followed by Eduardo Jasso and Jaedon Malone with 10 points each. Kendrick Currey chipped in seven assists.
The Timberwolves were 12 of 13 from the free-throw line and won the battle of the boards 44-12.
“We played good defense,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “We had to make sure and take care of business in our last pre-season game.
“The first season is now over. We look forward to getting it on to start the VOL Wednesday night.”
The Timberwolves travel to Tracy to start the VOL campaign Wednesday night against Kimball at 7.
Girls Wrestling
SANTA MARIA – The Bulletin recently reported that the Ripon girls wrestling team finished third Wednesday in the Lady Bash Holiday Tournament at Pioneer Valley High School. The Indians placed second.
