Ripon High’s girls basketball team went to its trusty press defense to secure a 55-49 win over Capital Christian of Sacramento Friday.

The Indians (5-1) rebounded well from their first loss suffered in Thursday’s opening-round action of the Liberty Ranch Tournament in Galt. They will play Mira Loma for the consolation title at 12:30 today.

After giving up 21 points in the third quarter, Ripon, trailing 43-38, pushed the tempo to steal the momentum in crunch time. Capital Christian (6-4) could not keep up, as it succumbed to a 17-6 outburst to close the contest.

“We made some really good stops toward the end (of the third quarter) to keep it close, and in the fourth quarter we just shut them down,” Ripon coach George Contente said. “We went to our press, sped up the game on them and it worked to our advantage. We converted on turnovers and forced them into taking quick shots.”

Contente introduced a new starting lineup Friday to match up with the Cougars’ size. Taylor Bach, a 6-foot-3 center, joined sophomore Kelsey Alexander and rugged junior post Tia Sidtikun in the frontcourt.

Bach’s presence opened things up for the others, as Alexander and Sidtikun each poured in 14 points. Point guard Ruth Waters added nine.

“Taylor did a real good job for us. It was the first start for her,” Contente said. “Kelsey hit some outside shots and Tia did some good work inside.

“Capital Christian has some good-sized players on their team and they’re pretty good. This was a good win.”