TUOLUMNE — After winning just four games all of last season, the Sierra girls basketball team will gladly take them in any fashion under first-year head coach Larissa Founts-Bergerson.
On Wednesday, two missed free throws helped the Timberwolves score a buzzer-beating layup for a wild 39-38 victory over Summerville.
The host Bears (1-1) had a chance to go up by three in the closing seconds but missed the free throws. Lindsey Walljasper grabbed the defensive rebound and sent the outlet pass to Raiann Prieto, who converted the game-winning shot on the other end.
“It was not pretty, but it’s better than driving an hour and a half back home without the ‘W,’” Founts-Bergerson said.
Walljasper and Prieto ended as the leading scorers for the Timberwolves (2-2) with nine and seven points, respectively. Jordan Hayter, Jasmine Correa and Jada Franklin chimed in with six apiece.
Sierra hunkered down defensively in the second quarter, holding Summerville to just two points while taking a 22-16 lead into halftime.
“We went to a full-court man (defense) in the second quarter and it worked out really well for us,” Founts-Bergerson said. “We went back to it in the fourth quarter.”
East Union 61,
Grace Davis 47
MODESTO — The Lancers (1-2) picked up their first win of the season behind a breakout effort from Julia Vezaldenos, who tallied 18 points.
“That was really nice to see,” East Union coach Jim Agostini said. “A couple of our young girls had some really nice games.”
Donja Payne finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Nina Muprhy and Mariah James contributed eight points each.
Tereaha Hall fired a game-high 31 points for Grace Davis and accounted for 23 of her team’s 24 points in the first half. East Union outscored the Spartans 21-6 in the second quarter to lead 34-23 by halaftime.
Monterey Trail 61,
Weston Ranch 44
ELK GROVE — The Cougars (1-1) trailed by 10 after the first quarter but dwindled it down to three, 27-24, by the break.
“We gave them everything we had in the second quarter,” Weston Ranch coach Darrell Johnson said. “We came out of halftime flat and never recovered.”
Justice Stitt paced the Cougars with 19 points, and Nia Boston had 10. Monterey Trail (2-1) had four players finish in double figures.
