LOS BANOS — Daniel Whaley fired 21 points on the strength of five made 3s, helping Lathrop’s boys basketball team remain undefeated in the Western Athletic Conference with a 71-58 win at Pacheco on Monday.
The Spartans (4-0 WAC, 12-4 overall) also have sole possession of first place but have two more road games ahead this week against Johansen and Beyer in Modesto.
They set the tone with defense against Pacheco (1-3, 6-7), which was led by point guard T.J. Jenkins’ 20 points. Lathrop took a 17-4 into the second quarter. A 28-point onslaught in the third put it away for the Spartans.
C.J. Ward contributed 19 points in the win, making his first nine of 10 free throws. Tangata Tuitupou added 13 points for Pacheco, while James Wright scored all 12 of his in the second half.

GIRLS HOOPS
Lathrop 53, Pacheco 25
So far, so good for the Spartans (4-0, 7-9) in their quest for a second straight WAC title.
They did it on both ends of the floor Monday, staking a 27-14 halftime lead while limiting the visiting Panthers (2-2, 4-10) to single digits in every quarter.
Jasmine Denning accumulated 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Kierstin Constantino produced15 points and seven assists. Sanah Singh pitched in nine points.
“We’re seeing (the result of) all those growing pains,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “We’re playing so much better defensively, which is the biggest difference. Before we were giving up layups and fouling, now we’re in good position on defense and rebounding and controlling the pace of the game.

GIRLS WRESTLING
SANGER – Ripon’s Alyssa Oliver won the gold medal at 116 pounds Saturday in the Lady Apache Tournament.
Oliver led a contingent of six Indians who medaled. Katelyn Cardoza (143) was second, Marissa Hernandez (111) and Riley Rangel (131) finished third, Kaylee Medeiros (160) was fourth and Melissa Perez (137) finished fifth.
Andrea Fierro (2-2) did not place but according to Ripon coach Eric Barrega she wrestled her best tournament of the year.
“This was a great tourney where the team wrestled well,” Barrega said. “We took shots and finished with a strong top game as well as some early round pins.”

GIRLS SOCCER
Kimball 4, East Union 3
The visiting Jaguars (3-1-1, 9-6-1 overall) take over at second place in the Valley Oak League after squeaking out the win at East Union (3-1, 5-5-2).
Cynthia Romero scored two headed goals off crosses by Hailey Sims. Taylor McMahon finished a breakaway up the middle to cap the final score. Malia Allen and Kylie Mendez split time at goal, coming up with two saves apiece.
“We possessed the whole game and had more shots, but a couple of mistakes killed us,” EU coach Carlos Gaspar said. “The girls played a great game.”

Sierra 9, Central Catholic 0
MODESTO — VOL-leading Sierra (4-0, 14-1 overall) rolled behind Jenna Villanueva’s three goals and three assists. Tiana Cello also recorded a hat trick to go with one assist.
Julianne Munoz, Nicole Martin and Annalise Paule added one goal apiece. Jenna Castro and Amelia Hernandez each had two assists. Melanie Nguyen assisted one.

Lathrop 2, Los Banos 2
Lathrop (2-2-1WAC, 3-11-1 overall) battled back from two one-goal deficits to salvage the draw.
Isa Paniagua was involved in both scoring sequences, first assisting Aryana Jones’ first-half goal before scoring one of her own off an assist by Kayla DeAnda. Goalkeeper Christina Solorio had nine saves.

Girls frosh hoops
Lathrop 36, Pacheco 27
Renaissance Thierry’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter highlighted a comeback win for the Spartans, who trailed by 12 in the opening period.
Pacheco held on for a 19-17 halftime lead but could not regain control. Alaba Olaleye led Lathrop with 16 points, and Taimane Lowery had six.

JV girls soccer
East Union 1, Kimball 0
Brittney Barrington decided the outcome with the lone goal.

Sierra 11, Central Catholic
Becca Thomson went off for three goals, Presley Perez added a pair and Maria Barajas distributed four assists to go with one goal to help Sierra (2-1-1, 4-3-3) dominate the VOL match.
Larissa Phillips, Lela Schuler Amanda Riggleman, Nathalya Yamamoto and Peyton Flores each scored once. Mikayla Jackson contributed two assists, while Michelle Borbosa, Emmi Patton, Kaila Ward, and Phillips had one apiece.