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Manteca holds off improved Sierra
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It wasn’t quite the wire-to-wire bludgeoning that it was the first time around, but at this point in the season Manteca High’s girls basketball team will gladly take the wins as they come with East Union remaining a game up in the Valley Oak League title race.
On Friday, the visiting Buffaloes took care of their other intra-city rival, Sierra, 57-47. Manteca had several chances all game to put it in cruise control, but the Timberwolves continued to scrap until the end. Down by 22 at one point in the fourth, Sierra finished it out on a 15-3 run.
Manteca (10-1 VOL, 16-8 overall) broke Sierra’s spirits early en route to a 54-25 drubbing in their first meeting. Although the Buffaloes held a big lead in the fourth in Friday’s rematch, this one didn’t come as easily.
“We don’t ever expect (to win) a rivalry game, but we hope for it,” Manteca coach MaryAnn Tolbert said. “I figured they were going to come out all guns blazing and try to get the upset. They’re a good team; they work really hard, they’re scrappy and they did a nice job in the third quarter of breaking our press and pulling us out of it.”
Sierra’s improved effort wasn’t enough to stop 6-foot-2 Loretta Kakala, who finished with a game-high 20 points. Point guard Sydnee Fryer flirted with a triple double (14 points, eight assists, six rebounds), and sophomore forward Rhiannon Genilla contributed nine points and nine boards.
Manteca jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but unlike in the previous game when it led 17-2 after the first quarter the Timberwolves (2-9, 10-14) found a way to claw their way back into it. Sierra trailed 16-10 going into the second period Friday.
The Buffaloes held a 36-18 halftime lead but were outscored in the second half.
“This is definitely one of the best games that we’ve played in a long time,” Sierra coach Martha Spivey said. “Overall, we played really well and played quality basketball. We did all the little stuff and applied everything that we worked on in practice yesterday. We truly put it together tonight.”
Kayla Wilson led three Timberwolves in double figures with 14 points and scored the last six of the game. Devi Coglio tallied seven of her 12 points in the opening period, and sophomore center Lindsey Walljasper finished with 11.
Manteca is still not at full strength as it goes into the final three games in the regular season. Four-year starter Elizabeth Tolbert (wrist) and freshman Kacy Bolding (elbow), a sparkplug off the bench, are still out, and both were instrumental in the team’s brisk start against Sierra last month.
“We don’t have the same personnel to do the same things that we did in the first round (of league),” coach Tolbert said. We’re making adjustments and sometimes we just don’t have that combination that we can do that with, but we’ll just keep working through it.”

East Union 56,
Weston Ranch 43
East Union, the VOL’s top team, fended off scrappy Weston Ranch at the Dalben Center.
No surprise that the Lancers (11-0 VOL, 23-1) were led by Olivia Vezaldenos and Ruby Daube.
Vezaldenos had a game-high 25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
Daube finished with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. But her crowning achievement came later on when she was named the winter homecoming queen.
Freshman center Donja Payne had 14 boards to go with her six points.
Asia Staups led Weston Ranch (2-9 VOL, 4-18) with 14 points.
The Cougars, who trailed 14-1 after the first quarter, also lost standout Cierra Jones to first-half injury.

Freshman
Manteca 34, Sierra 18
The Buffaloes (10-1) jump started the rout with a 9-2 surge, and they held visiting Sierra to just six points through three quarters.
Kaitlyn Morenzone fired 20 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Hazel Vera collected 11 rebounds in the first half alone. Alexia McBride was Sierra’s leading scorer with four points.