RANCHO CORDOVA — Weston Ranch opened its girls basketball season with a resounding 61-36 win over Cordova, but coach Darrell Johnson wants to see more scoring production out of his post players as the team’s schedule gets more challenging in the coming week.
The Cougars were led by their backcourt, with sophomore point guard Nia Boston pouring in 18 points, five assists and four steals. Justice Stitt added 16 points, Asani White scored eight to go with a whopping 22 rebounds and Mariah Ghattas dropped in three 3-pointers in the second half for her nine points.
Freshman Eva Graf paced Cordova with 19 points. Weston Ranch took a 29-20 lead into halftime but raced away with an 18-7 fourth-quarter run.
The Cougars next head to Elk Grove to face Monterey Trail before participating in the competitive Modesto Christian tournament.
Central Catholic 47,
Ripon Christian 35
ESCALON — Central Catholic outscored the Knights 19-6 in the second quarter to gain separation in their Pete Arellano Memorial Lions Club Tournament opener.
Kelly Engle finished with eight points for RC, while Renee Heida and Taylor Anema chipped in seven apiece. Central Catholic’s Jasmine Kelly topped all scorers with 17 points. The Knights face off with Millennium in the consolation bracket tonight.
BOYS HOOPS
Whitney 82, East Union 64
ROCKLIN — East Union struggled with turnovers in the early going but still managed to be within reach down 39-32 at halftime against the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champion Wildcats in the inaugural Nor-Cal Tip-Off Tournament.
“We settled down and started beating the press, we just couldn’t string together enough stops on the defensive end to get back into the game,” East Union coach Ryan Tarr.
Blake Greenlee pumped in 23 points to lead the Lancers. Jay Gakhal finished with 16 points, and Drew Sena had 10. East Union takes on Edison of Stockton today.
BOYS SOCCER
Sierra 3, Lincoln 1
STOCKTON — Tristan Gonzalez gave Sierra a lead it would never relinquish in the 10th minute, while Alex Mata and Kevin Mendiola each scored in the second half. Lincoln got on board with a penalty kick in the 75th minute.
GIRLS SOCCER
Weston Ranch 2, Stagg 0
STOCKTON — The Cougars set the tone early with Liz Medrano’s goal in the fourth minute off an assist from Selena Landin, who then doubled the lead with a free kick in the 77th minute.
Ripon 1, Beyer 1
RIPON — Freshman Ariana Scholten fed Aubree Pelon for Ripon’s goal in the 13th minute, but the Indians settled for a draw despite a dominant effort.
Ripon outshot Beyer 24-8 with goalie Ashley Pugh coming up with seven saves. Macie Hall hit the equalizer in the 77th minute.
Soph girls hoops
Weston Ranch 47,
Cordova 16
RANCHO CORDOVA — The Cougars cruised to a win behind 15 points from Diarri Ross and 12 from Kaila Comerie.
Frosh-soph soccer
Stagg 2, Weston Ranch 1
STOCKTON — Alexa Diaz knotted the score in the 64th minute for Weston Ranch. Lizbeth Perez recorded three saves.
