After it was shut out in the opening quarter, Lathrop battled back to within two points of host Mountain House on Friday before falling, 37-24.

“We just ran out of gas,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “I had to sub in some of my younger players and then we gave up like four straight fastbreak layups.”

Davis said he benched one of his starters for much of the game for disciplinary reasons, which factored into the team’s poor start. The Mustangs took advantage, galloping to an 11-0 lead. 

Lathrop did well to stay in the game and nearly produced a shutout of its own, outscoring Mountain House 7-2 in the third quarter. The Spartans made it 23-21 early in the fourth quarter before fatigue took over.

Sariah Fobert and Maya Gorman paced Mountain House with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Alaba Olaleye scored six to lead Lathrop.

The two Western Athletic Conference squads also faced off on Thursday, with Lathrop holding on for a 36-35 victory. The Spartans led 29-19 in the third quarter, but a 13-2 disparity in fouls against them helped visiting Mountain House to stay within reach.

Kierstin Constantino spearheaded a balanced scoring attack with eight points. Sanah Singh and Olaleye each had seven.

Central Catholic 34, Ripon 29 

Kiley Holland scored all 10 of her team-high points in the second half to help keep host Ripon competitive until the final whistle. 

Eight different Indians contributed with at least a point. Tessa Gallo also registered 10 points to lead Central Catholic.

Junior varsity

Lathrop 43, Mountain House 40

The Spartans avenged their loss from the previous night thanks to a last-second 3-pointer drilled by Riana Dela Cruz.

Tatiana Lowery was the overall scoring leader with 11, and Taimane Lowery added nine.