TRACY – East Union made easy work of Orestimba of Newman on Saturday, trouncing the Warriors 60-28 in the semifinals of the Breakfast Lions Club Girls Basketball Tournament at Tray High’s Swenson Gym.
Orestimba (13-2) was held to single digits every quarter.
“You have to appreciate the defense we are playing,” Lancers coach Jim Agostini said. “We are working on it and just trying to get better at it as the season progresses and we get closer to league play.
“The girls are grasping concepts that we have been working on and we are starting to see results. But we are definitely not 100 percent there.”
Taylor Snaer led East Union (12-2) with 16 points. Ala Tuuga added 10 points and Lani Tuuga and Danielle James added eight points each with James hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
The Lancers face Edison of Stockton for the championship tonight at 8.
Weston Ranch 58, Ripon 57 (OT)
With 3.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Cougars (7-5) trailing by three points, Weston Ranch freshman Janay Holmes took a cross-court pass from Julianna Lassiter and drained a 3-pointer to force the extra period.
“I hesitated a little when I shot that one,” Holmes said. “I wasn’t going to shoot it at first.
“I was hesitating and I was going to pass it, but my teammate Dearri (Ross) told me to shoot it.”
Zahbria Hendrix took it to the hole off of an assist from Lassiter with 25 seconds left in overtime and powered in a layup to put the Cougars ahead 58-54, just enough for the consolation semifinal win.
“I knew I had to get past my defender,” Hendrix said. “She gave me a wide-open lane so I just took it and I made it.”
Holmes and Jennalyn Laminero led the Weston Ranch with 17 points each.
“This was kind of frustrating at times,” Cougars coach Mike Williams said. “Although our girls were 12 for 30 from the free-throw line, they found a way to stay in it. And at the end of regulation, they ran it exactly like I drew it up and that says something when girls start trusting you and start doing exactly what you ask – it pays off. And then Janay hit a heck of a shot from the corner – especially for a freshman – she hit that in confidence.
“In overtime they took it to another level. We executed down the stretch, got a lot of stops, made some free throws and we made some shots. When you do that you can grind out some close games even when you do not have a good night with fouls or from the free-throw line.”
With just a two-point first quarter, the Indians (8-5) rode the hot hand of Mikayla Vaught who scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the second quarter, forcing a 22-22 halftime tie. The game was also tied at the end of the third and fourth quarters.
Mackenzie Hutchinson added 12 points for Ripon and Myra Toldeo added nine.
“I thought we did a nice job of not quitting at certain times,” Indians coach Rick Inderbitzin said. “We played hard, gave a great effort and scored 57 points. We just have to learn to channel our energy in certain areas so we can do the little things better.
“Weston Ranch did a great job. They are scrappy and they work hard.”
The Cougars face Lathrop today at 3:30 for the consolation championship.
Ripon jumps over to the championship bracket to substitute for Carson of Nevada which went home on Saturday. The Indians will face Orestimba for third place tonight at 6:30.
Lathrop 62, Enochs 55
The Spartans (3-7) came from behind to outscore the Eagles (2-5) 19-11 in the fourth quarter for the consolation semifinal win.
“Once again we started out hot,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “We were pretty locked in defensively and we did not turn the ball over like we have been.
“We were getting a lot of turnovers and a lot of deflections, but the biggest thing is these were the games we lost a few weeks ago when we were giving up layups on the other end. We are not giving up layups now.”
Kierstin Constantino led the Spartans with 26 points and Isa Paniagua added 14. Sanah Singh chipped in nine points and Jasmine Denning eight.
Lathrop and Weston Ranch square off this afternoon at 3:30 for the consolation championship.
Pitman Tournament
Pitman 52, Manteca 46
TURLOCK – The Buffaloes (10-4) recovered from a four-point first quarter to lead 38-33 going into the final period only for the Pride (10-3) to outscore Manteca 19-8 in the fourth quarter.
The Buffaloes’ Kyaria Jacobs (17-points) and Jaslyn Woods (nine points, 12 rebounds) earned all-tourney honors and Jayda Jackson put up a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Ripon Christian Tournament
Ripon Christian 47, Mariposa 12
The tournament host Knights (6-4) held the Grizzlies (1-7) to two points in each of the first three periods in the round-robin tournament finale.
Ripon Christian’s Morgan Van Elderen earned high-point honors with 20 and Mikaela Vander Molen added 11 points.
“It was a good team victory,” Knights coach Mike Vander Molen said. “It was a good team victory.
“We had much better shooting and far fewer turnovers.”
Sierra 71, Escalon 33
The host Timberwolves (11-4) led by 13 points at halftime before running over the Cougars (5-8) in the second half of the non-league contest.
“We started out slow in the first half,” Sierra coach Kayla Torio said. “In the second half we came out strong and aggressive.”
Marci Chaparro led the Timberwolves with 20 points and Natalie Dias added 14 points.
Girls wrestling
Queen of the Hill Tournament
CORONA – Ripon’s Katelynn Cardoza and Marissa Hernandez placed Saturday in one of the toughest tournaments in the state.
“The competition was tough and had the atmosphere of the state tournament,” Indians coach Eric Barriga said. “With more than 70 teams competing it is one of the biggest tournaments in California.”
Cardoza (143) wrestled excellently and finished in third, going 5-1.
“She beat multiple state qualifiers in her bracket,” Barriga said of Cardoza. “In her semifinal she faced a nationally ranked wrestler as well as a junior world team member.
“Although she was beat this contest the experience will prove to be valuable as we get further into the postseason.”
Hernandez (111) finished 4-3 to take eighth place.
“All her matches were tough and she is reaching her potential in preparation for the upcoming postseason,” Barriga said of Hernandez.
