After trading baskets with visiting Ripon to start the girls Sac-Joaquin Section Foundation Game on Monday, Manteca went on a 9-0 lead and never looked back in a 59-36 win at Winter Gymnasium.

“We feed off of our defense,” Buffaloes coach Mary Ann Tolbert said. “When we have the right people on top the press works real well.

“The press was kind of the game changer. Then we opened up our offense and we were more patient while we continued to feed off of our defense.”

Manteca allowed the Indians just four points in both the first and second periods, leading 31-8 at halftime. The Indians outscores the Buffaloes 16-12 in the third quarter.

“We have pretty good heart,” Ripon coach George Contente said. “But even though we have a lot of seniors, we don’t have a lot of experience.”

The Buffaloes’ Rubel Dehal led all scorers with 13 points and had three steals.

 “This was totally a team effort,” Dehal said. “We came out and played well defensively.

“We kind of fell apart a little in the third quarter but in the fourth quarter we came back defensively.”

Leah Manuleleua added 11 points for the Buffaloes. Simi Kaur and J.J. Santos (six rebounds) had three steals apiece and Lejla Pepic had three assists.

Mariah Strickland had 11 points for Ripon.

East Union 55, 

Ripon Christian 41

Olivia Vezaldenos went off for 24 points, and Ruby Daube added 12 as the Lancers sprinted past visiting Ripon Christian at Dalben Center.

Jessica Van Vliet finished with 16 points and eight rebounds to pace the Knights. Bailey Broker pulled down seven boards, and Carly Eastham dished out four assists.

“We’re young this year, and being that we’re young I thought that overall we played pretty well,” Ripon Christian coach Ed Mulder said. “We just had trouble keeping them out of transition and they are very quick, and we couldn’t defend their best player. It’s something to work on in practice.”