STOCKTON — The erratic shooting and rebounding woes that led to Weston Ranch’s seven-point halftime deficit to the Edison Vikings, turned into the strengths that carried the Cougars to a come-from-behind 52-47 victory in the opening matchup of the 33rd Annual Stagg Delta Queen Tournament.
Weston Ranch (2-1) struggled to get anything going on the offensive end, while Edison’s offensive opportunities continued to come away successful. The Vikings got hot from beyond the 3-point line, connecting on five 3-pointers and going 7-for-10 from the foul line.
It was evident the Cougars’ offensive woes were gone with the game’s first 16 minutes, as they scored seven of the first nine points of the second half and closed out the third quarter chopping Edison’s halftime lead to one.
“We did a good job of picking up our defense and our rebounding, but we missed 20 free throws, we were lucky to win,” Weston Ranch head coach Chris Bauer said. “We missed 17 layups in the first half and you cannot win ball games like that.
“Our defense held us in there; we held them to single digits in the third quarter and that was the difference.”
Weston Ranch’s did exactly that, bottling the Vikings up to just six third quarter points and recapturing the lead for the first time since April Seth’s layup gave the Cougars’ a 2-1 lead. Edison’s Ciarra Jordan poured in 10 first half points, but was held to half of that down the stretch.
Cougar Jazmin Strane was held scoreless the first half led Weston Ranch with eight points in the third and fourth quarters. Strane dominated on the offensive glass, teaming up with Timnesha Wilson to keep the Cougars in the winner’s bracket.
“Winning is always cool, but when you are down you are just way more motivated to get back ahead,” Strane said. “After halftime we came out and worked a lot better together and that is why we pulled it out.”
The Strange-Wilson duo combined for 24 second half points and played prominent roles in the Cougars’ defensive traps which caused the Vikings so many problems.
“It was nothing that coach really addressed us about, but it is always in my head that us being the two veterans on the team,” Strane said. “We have to be leaders for our group, and that was really what got to me during halftime.”
Weston Ranch’s Wilson finished with 16 points, while Santasia McClearn chipped in with five. The Cougars will try and continue its Stagg Tournament winning ways at 6:30 p.m. when they take on the winner of the McNair-Bear Creek contest. A victory there will usher the Cougars into their third Stagg Tournament title in as many seasons.
Weston Ranch (2-1) struggled to get anything going on the offensive end, while Edison’s offensive opportunities continued to come away successful. The Vikings got hot from beyond the 3-point line, connecting on five 3-pointers and going 7-for-10 from the foul line.
It was evident the Cougars’ offensive woes were gone with the game’s first 16 minutes, as they scored seven of the first nine points of the second half and closed out the third quarter chopping Edison’s halftime lead to one.
“We did a good job of picking up our defense and our rebounding, but we missed 20 free throws, we were lucky to win,” Weston Ranch head coach Chris Bauer said. “We missed 17 layups in the first half and you cannot win ball games like that.
“Our defense held us in there; we held them to single digits in the third quarter and that was the difference.”
Weston Ranch’s did exactly that, bottling the Vikings up to just six third quarter points and recapturing the lead for the first time since April Seth’s layup gave the Cougars’ a 2-1 lead. Edison’s Ciarra Jordan poured in 10 first half points, but was held to half of that down the stretch.
Cougar Jazmin Strane was held scoreless the first half led Weston Ranch with eight points in the third and fourth quarters. Strane dominated on the offensive glass, teaming up with Timnesha Wilson to keep the Cougars in the winner’s bracket.
“Winning is always cool, but when you are down you are just way more motivated to get back ahead,” Strane said. “After halftime we came out and worked a lot better together and that is why we pulled it out.”
The Strange-Wilson duo combined for 24 second half points and played prominent roles in the Cougars’ defensive traps which caused the Vikings so many problems.
“It was nothing that coach really addressed us about, but it is always in my head that us being the two veterans on the team,” Strane said. “We have to be leaders for our group, and that was really what got to me during halftime.”
Weston Ranch’s Wilson finished with 16 points, while Santasia McClearn chipped in with five. The Cougars will try and continue its Stagg Tournament winning ways at 6:30 p.m. when they take on the winner of the McNair-Bear Creek contest. A victory there will usher the Cougars into their third Stagg Tournament title in as many seasons.
