RIPON — It took 7 minutes, 34 seconds for Ripon High’s girls basketball team to sink its first field goal Thursday — a jumper from the right elbow off the fingertips of Adrianna Mayberry.
That closed the host Indians in 8-4 against rival Ripon Christian, which scored all of its first-quarter points in the post and gave Ripon fits with its 2-3 zone defense.
Then Kendra Contente caught fire.
Contente hit the first of her four 3-pointers midway through the second to give Ripon its first lead, 15-12, and the Indians rolled to a 54-38 victory to grab sole possession of second place in the Trans Valley League.
Ripon (3-1, 11-9) was dealt a 75-28 loss to powerhouse Modesto Christian Monday and needed a quarter to shake off the cobwebs Thursday.
Contente finished with 16 points, six assists and four steals, and her all-around play over the final three quarters helped open things up for the rest of the team.
“(Shots) just started falling in the second half and we went from there,” she said. “We started passing the ball around and took better shots.
“This was a good win coming off (the Modesto Christian game), we needed this.”
Senior center Lauren Feddersen scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and was a rebound shy of a double-double. Sereena Hertel added eight points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
“We got those two (Contente and Feddersen) going and Sereena, too — that was big for us,” Ripon coach George Contente said. “We got everybody involved and it was nice to see them contributing in one way or the other.”
Though Ripon’s offense took a while to strike, its constant was a bothersome defense that forced 32 turnovers.
Fortunes were reversed in the third quarter when Ripon outscored the Knights (2-2, 8-10) 14-4 after nursing a 19-18 halftime lead. Raeann DeRousse converted RC’s only field goal in the third off a put-back with 31 seconds to go.
“They applied a lot of pressure and we struggled with it a little bit,” Ripon Christian coach Kirk Tillema said. “We came off the Hughson loss where we were outhustled and outmuscled. Ripon is that type of team, too, and we needed to match their effort.
“I think that in the first half we did that, we just wore down in the second half.”
Kelsey Tillema led RC with 10 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three steals.
That closed the host Indians in 8-4 against rival Ripon Christian, which scored all of its first-quarter points in the post and gave Ripon fits with its 2-3 zone defense.
Then Kendra Contente caught fire.
Contente hit the first of her four 3-pointers midway through the second to give Ripon its first lead, 15-12, and the Indians rolled to a 54-38 victory to grab sole possession of second place in the Trans Valley League.
Ripon (3-1, 11-9) was dealt a 75-28 loss to powerhouse Modesto Christian Monday and needed a quarter to shake off the cobwebs Thursday.
Contente finished with 16 points, six assists and four steals, and her all-around play over the final three quarters helped open things up for the rest of the team.
“(Shots) just started falling in the second half and we went from there,” she said. “We started passing the ball around and took better shots.
“This was a good win coming off (the Modesto Christian game), we needed this.”
Senior center Lauren Feddersen scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and was a rebound shy of a double-double. Sereena Hertel added eight points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
“We got those two (Contente and Feddersen) going and Sereena, too — that was big for us,” Ripon coach George Contente said. “We got everybody involved and it was nice to see them contributing in one way or the other.”
Though Ripon’s offense took a while to strike, its constant was a bothersome defense that forced 32 turnovers.
Fortunes were reversed in the third quarter when Ripon outscored the Knights (2-2, 8-10) 14-4 after nursing a 19-18 halftime lead. Raeann DeRousse converted RC’s only field goal in the third off a put-back with 31 seconds to go.
“They applied a lot of pressure and we struggled with it a little bit,” Ripon Christian coach Kirk Tillema said. “We came off the Hughson loss where we were outhustled and outmuscled. Ripon is that type of team, too, and we needed to match their effort.
“I think that in the first half we did that, we just wore down in the second half.”
Kelsey Tillema led RC with 10 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three steals.
