There are still six games remaining on Lathrop’s girls basketball schedule, but the Spartans took a big step toward the Western Athletic Conference title after routing defending champ Pacheco on the road Tuesday, 58-29.

Still undefeated, Lathrop (8-0, 22-0 overall) has taken care of conference opponents by an average margin of 31 points.

The second-place Panthers (6-2, 13-9) surprised the visitor early on by working through the press defense to take a 6-2 lead. After a timeout, the Spartans took the momentum with 15 unanswered points and didn’t let go.

“We had good answers on the inside,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “The bigs were passing the ball well to each other. We switched to a full-court man (defense), and I think it caught them off guard a little bit. Our guards made them work really hard to get the ball past half court.”

Shakara Porter (seven rebounds, six steals three assists, two blocks) and Jaleiyah Ray (five rebounds, two assists, two steals) each scored 14 points while filling up the stat sheet. Breanna Wiseman added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Jaylah Seabron contributed with seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kira Davis grabbed six rebounds.
Lathrop hosts Grace Davis on Thursday.

East Union 42, Patterson 33

At Dalben Center, the Valley Oak League leading Lancers (8-0, 20-4 overall) trailed 8-2 to start the game but scored the final 11 points of the first quarter and held the lead from there.

East Union played well defensively and held the Tigers (4-4, 15-8) to one-shot possessions, collecting 41 rebounds. Zyondupree Beasley led the Lancers with 19 points and 13 rebounds. She also knocked down a 3-pointer, which was EU’s only field goal of the final period.

Ava Barrera pulled down 12 rebounds to go with five points. Jerney Luckett netted eight rebounds and four points. Shebra Rezaye (five rebounds, four assists) and Julianna Gaspar chipped in with seven points apiece.

Alyse Lomeli paced Patterson with 12 points.

Ripon 50, Hughson 28

The visiting Indians (4-3 Trans Valley League, 11-12 overall) raced away with an 18-point outburst in the fourth quarter, getting two 3s from Savannah Richardson in that stretch. The junior guard finished with 12 points and six steals.

Lauren Peters produced 10 points and eight rebounds. Ixtel Reynoso also racked up 10 points, while Scarlett Ponce had nine.

Hughson (1-6, 6-16) was led by sophomore guards Christiana Bylsma and Shawna Valverde, who scored eight points each.

BOYS SOCCER

Lathrop 3, Ceres 1

Andres Hurtado struck for two goals and assisted Diego Alvarez, as Lathrop (8-1-1, 16-3-2 overall) scooted closer to its first WAC title.

Alan Hernandez assisted Hurtado’s first-half goal. Ceres (4-4-2, 6-7-4) snuck in its goal in added time. It was otherwise a quiet night in front of the Spartans goal for Julian Ceja, who had one save.

Lathrop lost the JV game, 4-0.

BOYS BASKETBALL

River Islands 65, Holt Academy 52

Charles Mapanao continued his recent hot streak, draining six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 20 points in Stockton. The Riptide (4-0, 12-10 overall) remain in first place in the Central California Athletic Alliance.

Dylan Peter pitched in with 15 points, and Zac Basurto had 11.

JV girls basketball

Lathrop 47, Pacheco 8

Zoha Ali amassed 10 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and five assists in the Spartans’ lopsided victory in Los Banos.

Sariah Hilton contributed six points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Sarah Garcia registered 12 points, five boards and three steals.