Coming off a tough overtime loss at El Capitan the night before, Lathrop’s girls basketball team started sluggishly in the Los Banos Tournament on Thursday.
Trailing 13-6 after the first quarter, the Spartans turned up the defensive pressure and pulled away late for a 56-47 bounce-back victory.
Kierstin Constantino and Isa Paniagua led the charge, as Lathrop (2-1) forced nine turnovers in the second quarter. The two seniors each swiped four steals while scoring nine and seven points, respectively. The Spartans outscored Hughson (1-3) 27-10 in the period.
Constantino finished with a game-high 23 points, and Paniagua had 18. Sydney Hanks contributed seven rebounds, and Egypt Jenkins provided a spark with her lockdown defense.
Lathrop takes on tourney host and Western Athletic Conference rival Los Banos tonight at 8.
Manteca 45, Lodi 34
The Buffaloes were on the road for their season opener, and they pulled away after leading 15-14 at halftime.
Freshman Ariel De La O led them with 14 points, and sophomore Izabella Sanchez pitched in 12 points and five rebounds.
“With this being our first official game, we’re trying to get into the swing of things — new coaching staff, new system, bunch of young, new talent,” first-year MHS coach Oscar Calix said. “Had a slow start, as we tried to do too much with the ball instead of simplifying things. Second half we came out with more energy, more ball movement and started following into our game that we know we can play.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
Ripon Christian 78, Waterford 34
The Knights (1-0) dominated their familiar foe from the Southern Athletic League, advancing to the winners-bracket semifinals of the Ron Peterson Tip-Off Tournament at Riverbank High. They amassed at least 22 points in the first three quarters to build a commanding 70-28 lead.
Eli Terpsma knocked down three 3s and finished with a game-high 15 points. He was one of 12 different Ripon Christian players to score. Griffin DeAbreu added 13 points to the attack.
RC squares off with Patterson today at 6:30.
Lathrop 62, Downey 60
Napolean Reeves sent the Spartans (1-1) to their first win of the season, draining a late 3-pointer in Day 2 of the Modesto City Classic.
Samuel Stewart posted a team-high 14 points, Reeves wound up with 11 and Izaias White had 10. Lathrop spoiled a 26-point outburst from Downey’s Gavin Garcia. The Knights of Modesto fall to 2-1.
Lathrop gets an early-season look at WAC rival Grace Davis today starting at 4.
Oakdale 40, Ripon 38
Ripon (0-3) struggled to make easy buckets from the post and paid for it in the Joe Nava Stagg Tournament opener. The Indians shook off a slow start but were unable to build on their 21-18 halftime lead. They play Bear Creek tonight.
Bronson Burrow and Nolan Young collected nine and eight rebounds, respectively, and tallied 10 points apiece. Anthony Sausedo turned in nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.
“We’re just knocking off the rust still,” Ripon coach Justin Graham said. Both Burrow and Young are late arrivals from the football season. “I thought our two bigs had a ton of great looks, we’re just not finishing right now. Give credit to Oakdale, they played hard and wanted that game more than we did. They played with a sense of urgency that we lacked.”
GIRLS SOCCER
Ripon Christian 1, Stone Ridge Christian 0
Freshman Addison DeJong was responsible for the tiebreaker, striking midway through the second half. It would be the only shot converted out of the 39 attempted by Ripon Christian. Tara Heida and the defense kept the sheet clean for the second time this season.
Frosh boys basketball
Manteca 59, Edison 36
Eddie Anthony netted 20 points and five rebounds as the Buffaloes (3-1) rolled in the opening round of the Bear Creek Tournament.
Damien Jovee added 11 points, and Jayden Scarver delivered nine points and seven assists. Johan Peringelil and Harp Mehrok contributed six points apiece while grabbing 11 and eight rebounds, respectively.
Manteca plays Tracy tonight at 6:30.