Following a sluggish start by both teams Tuesday night, Manteca broke out with an 8-0 run to start the second period and never looked back in a 52-31 win over Weston Ranch to begin the Valley Oak League girls basketball campaign at Winter Gym.
“We started out sluggish today,” Buffaloes coach Ryan Bono said. “Our first quarters have been sluggish all year, so we have to find a way to kick start our first quarters.
“I thought we did a really good job in the second and thirds quarters of moving the ball and playing solid defense, holding them to one shot which led us to get some easy buckets.”
Manteca (1-0 VOL, 8-5 overall) outscored the Cougars (0-1, 3-9) 21-7 in the second period for a 28-14 halftime lead.
“They just played harder than we did,” Weston Ranch coach Dewuan Johnson said. “That’s the truth.
“If we would have played in that second quarter like we did in the third or the fourth, this game would have been a lot closer. We just didn’t show up in the second quarter.”
Chandler Nieman scored all six of her points for the Buffaloes in the second period when Marissa Serrano scored five of her eight points. This is Serrano’s first game following the mandatory sit-out period she incurred after transferring from St. Mary’s in Stockton.
“It feels great to finally be out on the court,” Serrano said. “It felt good to have a chance to contribute.”
Rhiannon Genilla led the Buffaloes with 12 points while pulling down five rebounds and making two steals.
“We got some momentum,” Genilla said. “And we started setting each other up by swinging the ball to create space and we capitalized on that.”
Kyaria Jacobs directed the Manteca offense and scored nine points.
“It was a team effort,” Jacobs said. “We finally started driving and the lanes started opening up.
“That is how we got most of our shots.”
Weston Ranch’s Justice Stitt led all scorers with 18 points.

Sophomore
Manteca 53,
Weston Ranch 15
Victoria Villalvazo led the Buffaloes with 18 points.
Savannah Alvarez added 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds while Raelene Finley flirted with a double-double at nine points and 10 rebounds.
Darla Perkins paced the Cougars with nine points.

Freshman
Manteca 48,
Weston Ranch 18
Jaslyn Woods tallied a double-double for the Buffaloes with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals.
Cynthia Marquez chipped in nine points and three steals and Jadyn Neiman posted seven points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Jasmine Basco led the Cougars with seven points.