The East Union girls basketball team opened its season Tuesday with a strong showing on the road, handling Merced, 49-36.

The host Bears were limited to just two made free throws in the first quarter and trailed 12-2 going into the second. Promising freshman Nylah Dyson made her varsity debut for EU, pouring in a game-high 19 points.

“I’m real proud of our halfcourt defense,” East Union assistant coach Richard Marsh said. “We played really good defense and made it tough for them to score. It’s always to go get that first win. We had seven different people score, so it was a good team effort with lots of contributions.”

Senior standout Taylor Snaer tallied 10 points, and Mariela Navarro added six. Linda Yanez and Mylah Steverson netted 12 and 11 points for Merced, respectively.

The Lancers begin the Golden Valley Tournament on Thursday against San Mateo.

Ripon 43, Downey 42

The Indians (2-0) are getting some experience with crunch-time situations out the gate. Last week, they held on for a two-point win against Tokay in their opener.

On Tuesday, Ripon got three key buckets down the stretch from Kailee Inderbitzin and Grace Mikami. Inderbitzin knocked down the eventual game winner with a jump shot from the free-throw line with 15 seconds remaining.

Vanessah Ponce paced Ripon with 12 points, and Mikami chipped in 10. Inderbitzin finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists.

Downey’s Gissel Cervantes led all scorers with 23 points.

The Indians also won both lower-level contests, with the JV prevailing 44-34 and the freshman rolling, 48-25.

GIRLS SOCCER

Manteca 4, West 0

Alabama-bound Cami Silva scored with all four of her shot attempts against the visiting Wolf Pack from Tracy. Alexi Alva assisted two of them.

Haylie Brasil notched her second shutout in as many nights and came up with six saves. Manteca is now 2-0 going into its match at Venture Academy today.

“Solid outing for us,” Manteca coach Justin Coenenberg said. “We moved the ball much more effectively tonight and capitalized on opportunities. Haylie Brazil had another good game in goal. It was a good team effort tonight, even though Cami did all of the scoring. She was taking on defenders and shooting from distance. She was really explosive.”

JV girls basketball

Merced 44, East Union 25

Isabella Crabbe and Kylie Keller registered 10 and six points, respectively, for East Union.