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Moore scores 24 in debut for Cougars
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Brijanee Moore made her anticipated debut with the Weston Ranch girls basketball team Wednesday.

The St. Mary’s transfer shared game-high honors with 24 points and led the Cougars to an 81-49 throttling of visiting Central Catholic in the first Valley Oak League contests for both squads. Transfers must sit out the first 30-35 days of the season per CIF rules.

Elisabeth Alexander also scored 24 points for Weston Ranch, which improved to 10-2. Moore, a dynamic point guard, added eight rebounds and eight steals. Victoria Gulley contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

“She brings a different level to the team and an air of confidence with her,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Bauer said. “She makes people elevate their game.”

The Cougars led 23-9 after the first quarter and had little trouble scoring thereafter despite 22 turnovers.  Sophomore standout Danielle Friedrich paced Central Catholic (0-1, 6-8 overall) with 17 points.

“A win is a win and you obviously want to start league with a win, but we played very sloppy at times,” Bauer said. “There wasn’t a flow. It’s Bri’s first game and obviously practice is much different than a game, so people were still getting used to each other. The tempo was at a pace we wanted but the execution wasn’t there.”

The addition of Moore spices up Weston Ranch’s next contest at Manteca, which hopes to have Brookside Christian transfer Sydney Fryer medically cleared by tipoff. Loretta Kakala, who arrived from East Union, played in Manteca’s pre-league finale on Monday.



Sierra 47, Oakdale 37

Kristen Maestretti netted 12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to catapult the Timberwolves (1-0, 5-8) to their fourth win in six games. Kayla Wilson added 14 points for Sierra, while Oakdale had three players finish with eight apiece.

“We played a good game tonight,” Sierra coach Martha Spivey said. “We wanted to focus on setting the tempo and controlling the game in that regard and it was something we were able to accomplish.”



Kimball 79, East Union 46

Freshman Raziya Potter poured in 21 points as Kimball rolled to its 14th straight win to start the season Wednesday in Tracy. The Jaguars outscored East Union (0-1, 8-4) 22-8 in the second quarter and were ahead 45-23 at halftime.

Anna Wood was the Lancers’ top scorer with 20 points, and Olivia Vezaldenos fired 11.

“They’re the real deal,” East Union coach Jim Agostini said. “They’re the defending champs and they set the bar pretty high tonight.”



Manteca 63, Lathrop 33

At Lathrop, Lejla Pepic led a balanced scoring effort for the Buffaloes (1-0, 9-5) with 13 points. Loretta Kakala chipped in with 12 and Elizabeth Tolbert had nine.



Sophomore

East Union 42, Kimball 35

Haley Gosney registered16 points as the Squires improved to 8-3 overall.



Freshman

Sierra 31, Oakdale 12

The Timberwolves led from wire to wire and were anchored by Yolanda Tavares’ 13 points and Suneet Dhaliwal’s 10. Jasmin Correa aided the win with good defense.



Kimball 49, East Union 42

Down 11 at halftime, East Union was able to close to within two, 37-35 early in the fourth quarter before the Jaguars inched away with the victory.

Gicell Garcia led the way with 15 points, and Kayla Montoya grabbed seven rebounds to go with her eight points.