Reigning co-champion East Union may have been the underdog in its Valley Oak League first-place clash Thursday at Dalben Center, but experience ultimately won the day.
The battle-tested Lancers made the clutch plays to force an overtime period and overcome previously-undefeated Central Catholic, 62-58.
“That’s our third or fourth overtime,” longtime EU coach Jim Agostini said. “I know for us, being in these situations and having experienced it helped. We work on it. We didn’t play well early, but they just find a way in late-game situations to execute a little bit better.”
Multiple players had a hand in it.
Julianna Gaspar, visibly hampered by an injured knee throughout the contest, did not attempt many shots but hit the biggest one — a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in overtime that gave the Lancers (5-0 VOL, 17-4 overall) the lead for good at 58-55. She ended with five points, four assists and four steals.
“It’s the adrenaline,” Gaspar said of playing through the pain. “I just tried my best to push through, because I knew my team needed me.”
Giving her that open look was Shebra Rezaye, who had clutch moments of her own. The senior secured the win by hitting four straight free throws in the final 21.1 seconds, and earlier sank two attempts from the foul line with 21/5 seconds left in regulation to send the game to the extra period with the score tied, 51-51.
Rezaye finished 8-of-8 on free throws and scored 11 points.
“I just look at it as normal shot that’s wide open,” Rezaye said. “With all the free-throw practice I’ve been doing, I’m expecting them to go in.”
Senior forward Zyondupree Beasley buoyed East Union with 21 points, 11 bounds, four steals and three blocks. What may have been her biggest contribution doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
Central Catholic (4-1, 17-1), as it does to every opponent, blitzed East Union with its stifling full-court press at the outset and forced nine turnovers in the opening period and 29 in all. Beasley, did her usual work in the post, but she displayed her ability as a point forward who can reliably get the Lancers into their halfcourt offense.
“This is what we practice for,” Beasley said. “Our coaches gave us the plays, and we executed when we needed to.”
The Raiders, spearheaded by impressive first-year junior guard Ayla Parcon, won most of their previous 17 games by wide margins — eight of them by 40-plus. Parcon knocked down a 3-pointer in the final moments of the third quarter to push Central Catholic’s lead to 38-31. She topped all scorers with 25 points to go with eight steals and six rebounds.
Unfazed, the Lancers went on a 9-2 run to tie it, getting five points from senior Ava Barrera during that stretch. She finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three steals.
The two teams traded buckets from there, with Beasley providing three straight for East Union including two layups off of nifty spin moves along the baseline.
“They’ve been boat racing everybody,” Agostini said. “We just wanted to get this game, somehow and someway, into the fourth quarter. Just keep it as close as we can, and handle their pressure defense as best we can. If we can just get this thing in the fourth quarter, let’s roll the dice and see what we can do.”
Although the Lancers struggled, at times, with Central Catholic’s full-court pressure, they were able to bother the Raiders with various defensive looks of their own and forced 20 turnovers. In fact, they went to a press defense late in the fourth quarter to force a giveaway that led to Rezaye’s equalizing free throws.
“Very proud of our young ladies,” Agostini said. “We took on a good team here, and it was a great game.
Hannah Garcia contributed 11 points, seven steals and four assists for Central Catholic. Mia Cardoza added 10 points 13 rebounds and three assists.
The Raiders came into the game ranked 15th in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps, and No. 1 in Division IV. East Union was 22nd in the SJS and third in Division III. The Lancers wrap up the first half of league play next Tuesday at rival Manteca.
Junior varsity
East Union 39, Central Catholic 36
The Lancers (5-0, 17-4) held on for the win to take sole possession of first place in the VOL.
Lilyan Frye led the way with 12 points, while Camille Christensen and Elle Baluyut scored nine apiece. Baluyut made three 3-pointers.
