The East Union Lancers got all they could handle plus more from cross-town rival Sierra on Saturday afternoon, pulling away late after trailing in the third quarter to secure a 39-26 victory and move to 3-0 in Valley Oak League play.
“You know in this league you are going to have to gut out wins,” said East Union head coach Jim Agostini. “Credit to Sierra and what that staff is building over there; they had us on the ropes. I was just happy our girls responded late and were able to pull out a win.”
The Lancers (15-4 overall) turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter, as Sierra (1-1, 8-8) swarmed their guards and got out running for easy buckets. The Timberwolves young back court duo of Felisa Cruz-Olenhouse (six points) and Elin Villanueva (eight points) helped the hosts jump out to a 9-5 lead at the first break in what was a slow start for both teams shooting the basketball.
“I am extremely proud of how we came out and battled,” Sierra head coach Rudy Valencia said. “We got after them early and really made it hard on a good offensive team in East Union.”
Agostini turned to senior guard Julianna Gaspar (six points) to calm the Lancers nerves in a second quarter that saw East Union battle back to take the lead. Leading scorer Shebra Rezaye (13 points, seven rebounds, three assists) got going from the free-throw line and assisted on buckets to senior forward Ava Barrera (12 points, 10 rebounds) to help the Lancers go into the halftime break up, 17-15.
Valencia’s Timberwolves showed the resolve of a team looking to improve on a fifth place finish in the VOL last season as they came out in the second half on a 9-4 run to take a three point lead 24-21 after junior guard Danica Cesante (five points) made a 3-pointer and then scored on a put back within 30 seconds of game time forcing Agostini and the Lancers to take a timeout.
“In that moment, I just had to remind them to stop forcing things,” coach Agostini said. “We can be young in places and sometimes don’t make that extra pass to get the right look. They took a deep breath, realized there was a lot of game left and started playing the way we like to play.”
East Union responded to the challenge of it’s coach by scoring the next four points in the third quarter after a massive 3-point bucket from Rezaye to take a 25-24 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We all looked around at each other and knew someone needed to make a play,” Rezaye said. “I was just happy to get a good look and put the ball in the basket for us when it mattered.”
While its offense started to regain its form, East Union relied on its defense to ultimately put the game away against a very game Timberwolves squad.
Sierra managed just two points after the East Union timeout in the middle of the third quarter, due in large part to strong play in the post from Barerra on Sierra’s frontcourt duo of Isabellah Crabb (six points) and Emalina Latu (two points), both of whom came into Saturday’s contest averaging double figures.
“Ava earned the hard hat for us defensively tonight,” Agostini said. “When we couldn’t get going offensively, she still competed on the defensive end and kept us in the game.”
While Sierra struggled to find its shot late, Rezaye and Barrera combined for eleven of the Lancers 14 points in the fourth quarter to help the 6-time defending VOL champions pull away for a 39-26 victory.
“It’s funny how once you start seeing the ball go through the basket your whole mentality changes,” Agostini said. “We started getting into the zone getting easy baskets around the rim and that leads to open shooters who were able to knock down big shots for us.”
For Valencia, Saturday’s win is just one of many lessons in what is a long season.
“I told them we no longer need to wonder if we can compete in this league,” We can, and we did for 24 minutes tonight. We’ll build on this and hopefully next time we can do it for the full 32.”
Junior Varsity
East Union 46, Sierra 16
The Lancers jumped out to a 11-2 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to a 46-16 victory over Sierra’s Junior Varsity squad. Lilyan Frye led all scorers with 15 points, while Elle Baluyut scored 14.
