SALIDA — It was another day, another Trans Valley League victory for Modesto Christian Monday.

The Crusaders, ranked No. 2 in the state among Division IV teams by CalHiSports.com, outscored Ripon 20-1 in the second quarter and cruised to a 75-28 victory.

Modesto Christian (3-0, 16-2 overall), which hasn’t lost a TVL contest since joining the league in 2006-07, used its superior athleticism and aggressive press defense to jump on the Indians (2-1, 10-9) early.

Reinging TVL MVP Brandi Henton rattled in 24 points to lead all scorers, and 6-foot-1 post Danielle Thompson added 16 points. Alexus Tilman turned in 12.

Modesto Christian opened league last week by gaudy margins: 105-21 against Escalon, and 82-18 against Escalon.

“They’re a good team,” Ripon coach George Contente said. “We just don’t match up with them very well. Our kids played very hard all the way through the end, and I have to give them credit for that.

“We were a little bit nervous at the beginning before settling down, but we just didn’t execute like we wanted to.”

Center Lauren Feddersen paced Ripon with 11 points and six rebounds, while Kendra Contente pitched in with seven.

Ripon has another big game Thursday when it plays host to rival Ripon Christian in a battle for second place and playoff implications.

“We’ve been playing pretty well, before this game, so we have to bounce back and get back to where we were,” coach Contente said.  

Hughson 46, Ripon Christian 34
HUGHSON — The Knights (2-1, 8-9) were outscored 27-12 in the middle two quarters, and Hughson (1-2, 6-10) was able to overcome a poor shooting effort (5 for 14) from the free-throw line for its first league victory.

The Huskies were led by wing forwards Madelyn Birchall and Addie Garza, who poured in 12 points apiece. Mikaela Alger spearheaded RC with 10 points, and standout center Kelsey Tillema was limited to nine.

“They simply outhustled us in those two middle quarters and that was the difference in the game,” RC coach Kirk Tillema said.