Tying the game to start the fourth period Thursday night, Lathrop quickly fell behind visiting Los Banos by nine points but battled back within two points on a 3-pointer by Marianna Delgado fed by Tatiana Lowery with 17.2 seconds remaining.
The Spartans would come no closer and lost 53-49 in the girls Western Athletic Conference finale.
“We know Los Banos really well,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “That was a fun battle. I told the girls that if we battled like the end of the game from start to finish
“If a team beats you, they beat you. But if you don’t compete and you are just out there, you walk off with a nasty taste in your mouth. I told them I was proud of them, because they fought all the way until there was no time left on the clock. We didn’t do that all season, and now we have to come back hard in the playoffs.”
A trio of 3 pointers – two by Athalia Torres (10 points) and one by America Ordunez (13 points, 10 rebounds) – helped give the Tigers (8-6 WAC, 17-11 overall) that nine-point fourth-period lead.
“That was a great game,” Los Banos coach Lorinda Sanchez said. “We stepped it up when she (Torres) finally started hitting her 3’s. That put the pressure on them defensively and we turned it around.
“It was a good fourth quarter for us.”
Marianna Delgado led the attack for the Spartans (8-6, 17-11) with 13 points behind three 3-pointers with eight rebounds. Tatiana Lowery added 12 points, six rebounds and five steals and Shakara Porter put up a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Sierra Adams pulled down 13 rebounds.
The pairings for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs that begin next week will be announced on Saturday.
Junior varsity
Los Banos 50, Lathrop 22
The Tigers finished the WAC schedule undefeated, putting up a 20-point second quarter and holding the Spartans to single digits in each period.
Tatianna Lopez paced Lathrop with 10 points.
Lathrop 33, Mountain House 32
Kriselle Matela helped the Spartans avenge an earlier-season loss Tuesday night with a late field goal for a two-point lead. The Mustangs then made one of two free throws with Lathrop running out the clock with just seconds left.
Matela paced the Spartans with nine points and four rebounds. Zaha Ali added eight points with five points apiece for Moira Ramones and Lopez.
Freshman
Lathrop 42, Los Banos 26
Aniya McGriff put up 10 points and five rebounds to pace the Spartans.
Hazel Beltran added nine points, four rebounds and four steals and Taylor Rios (seven points, two steals) pulled down 19 rebounds.
Lathrop finished the WAC season 10-2.
