ESCALON – Ripon Christian’s varsity girls basketball team found itself looking up to a 13-5 deficit after one period of play, but that only sparked the Lady Knights as they went on to devour the Escalon Cougars 43-26 Monday in Trans Valley League play.

Ripon Christian (4-3 TVL, 10-11 overall) fought back in contention with a 13-2 second quarter.

“We made some adjustments defensively in the 2nd quarter, applying some full court pressure,” Ripon Christian head coach Kirk Tillema said. “That led to us limiting the Cougars to one field goal in the second quarter.”

Kelsey Tillema led the charge with 11 points, 15 rebounds, while teammates Amanda Boersma and Kathryn Van Groningen chipped in with seven and six, respectively. Mikaela Alger made her presence felt with 5 points and a game-high 16 boards. Boersma also dished out a game-high 10 assists for Ripon Christian.

The Lady Knights will try and keep things going when they play host to the Hughson Huskies Thursday for Ripon Christian’s senior night.

RIVERBANK – The Indians (6-1, 14-9) had a business as usual approach in their TVL contest with the Bruins, cruising to an easy victory Monday.

Lauren Feddersen has her way with Riverbank, turning in a double-double effort with 18 points and 10 boards. Kendra Contente followed Feddersen in the scoring column, finishing in double-digits with 15.

“We played pretty hard tonight as a team,” Ripon head coach George Contente said. “Lauren really had a phenomenal game with her double-double. We were able to get everybody in the game and get them a score, so that was nice.

“It was good to see us come out and play pretty well.”

Sereena Hertel finished with eight points, while Rachel Rodriguez added seven.

The Indians will have their hands full when they step on the hardwood Thursday and play host to the Modesto Christian Crusaders.