Anandjap Dhami and Savannah Richardson wanted to honor their three senior teammates with a victory Thursday in Ripon’s regular-season finale against visiting Hilmar.
The Indians did come through with the 32-27 win that snapped a three-game skid while also extending their season. That’s because they earned the third and final automatic playoff berth in the Trans Valley League.
“It’s very gratifying,” Ripon coach John Scheid said. “We were a little sporadic the whole year, but we kind of came together the past few days and I think we have something to build on.”
Ripon (6-6, 13-15 overall) and Hilmar (6-6, 16-7) finished tied for third place in the Trans Valley League, but their season records against second-place Sonora proved to be the difference — the Indians were able to split with the Wildcats, while the Yellowjackets were swept.
Hilmar may have already had a postseason spot secured via its Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV ranking on MaxPreps. The Yellowjackets came into the game at No. 13, while Ripon was 17th. The top 15 who don’t finish in the top three of their league earn at-large bids.
The Indians needed this win more, but they were also motivated by previous outcome against Hilmar — a lopsided 44-26 defeat.
Dhami was the anchor early on, scoring 10 of her game-high 12 points in the first half. She also had 11 rebounds and two blocks.
“I feel like the last game (against Hilmar) was very much an off game for us,” Dhami said. “Tonight, we just used our height to outrebound them.”
Ripon dominated the glass with a decided 37-26 edge on rebounds.
Fellow junior Richardson came alive in the later and ended with 10 points. Lauren Peters contributed six points and six rebounds off the bench.
“This felt really good, because it was pretty heated last time (against Hilmar),” Richardson said. “Plus, it’s senior night, so we wanted to do it for them.”
Ripon recognized Scarlett Ponce (two points, steal), McKenzie Spear (eight rebounds, steal) and Emmie Matthew (two rebounds) before the game.
They got to celebrate after the game, thanks to some big shots made by Richardson. The junior guard rattled in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the mid-court line at the end of the first half, giving Ripon a 15-13 lead it would not relinquish.
“Honestly, I did not expect it to go in,” Richardson said. “And then I saw it line up with the basket, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ That just felt unreal.”
She came through for the final points of the second half, as well, just as Hilmar was making a last-minute charge after falling behind by as much as 13, 30-17, early in the fourth quarter. Richardson made a 3-pointer with 6:03 remaining, but Ripon went on a 5 1/2-minute drought, while the Yellowjackets scored 10 unanswered points.
Richardson ended the dry spell with two dagger free throws with 27.3 to go. Last month, she knocked down the tying and go-ahead free throws in the final seconds of Ripon’s 44-43 a win over Sonora.
“This is not the first time she has done that,” Scheid said. “She came through for us again. She’s just a stud.”
First-round playoff pairings will be released by the section on Sunday.
