TRACY — For a quarter-plus in Tuesday’s Tracy Breakfast Lions/Tom Hawkins Tournament consolation-bracket final, Manteca showed how much it has improved since its season opener a little more than three weeks ago.
The Buffaloes were executing their offense with crisp passes and dribble penetration. They fed their gritty low-post player, Leah Manuleleua, early and often and it was paying dividends.
The second half was a reminder that the Buffaloes still have a ways to go.
A third-quarter scoring funk lasting 6 minutes, 20 seconds allowed Gregori of Modesto to seize control of the game and the consolation title with a 45-37 victory at West High’s Steve Thornton Gym. Mariah McDuffy and Stephanie Hermosillo sparked the Jaguars (11-2) and accounted for 19 of their 24 points in the second half.
Manuleleua accumulated 17 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for Manteca (7-5). Elizabeth Tolbert contributed 13 points.
Gregori came alive during Manteca’s third-quarter dry spell, scoring 12 unanswered points to take a 33-27 lead. Lejla Pepic ended the skid with a layup with 22 seconds to go, but the Buffaloes were held without another field goal for the next 5:40.
“We didn’t come out and execute,” Manteca coach MaryAnn Tolbert said. “We talked a lot about the offense at halftime. (Gregori) made adjustments on defense and we just continued to try the same things we did in the first half that were successful.
“We couldn’t get any (shots) to fall, we were forcing (shots), we became real stagnant and we were turning the ball over. It just went downhill from there. They got a couple of points ahead of us and all of the sudden we shut down, like we thought we were already beat.”
McDuffy scored 11 of her 12 points in the second half to lead Gregori, while Hermosillo ended with 10. Destinee Elgen, a 6-foot-1 center, added six points and 12 rebounds. Ashley McBay collected seven rebounds and six steals to go with her seven points.
The Buffaloes went 2-2 and placed 10th in this 16-team tournament. Starting guard Rubel Dehal went down with a knee injury in Manteca’s opening-round loss to Liberty last Friday and hasn’t played since, giving others a chance to get some playing time.
“I’d rather save her for league, and it’s a good thing to see that we could win without her,” Tolbert said. “Tonight, when we fell apart, that’s where she would fill that missing piece. The great thing about Rubel is that she has the composure to handle those situations.”
Manteca hosts Turlock on Monday for its final tune-up for the Valley Oak League season.
13th place
Riverbank 43, Lathrop 40
After playing three quarters of what coach Dwayne Davis called “emotionless basketball,” the Spartans rallied from a 15-point deficit with 2 minutes remaining and forced an overtime period.
Lathrop (5-8) held a four-point lead in the extra stanza but had turnovers on three successive possessions. Riverbank (6-6) took the lead for good with 3.8 seconds left after Olivia Luu secured a loose ball and chucked up a 3-pointer. Lauren Collins had a chance to tie on a full-court play but was off the mark on her 3.
Collins paced the Spartans with 10 points, Ashley Diboki had nine points and 13 rebounds and Danya Phillips chipped in seven points and 10 boards.
