OAKDALE – East Union showed up in Oakdale and took care of business, halting a normally explosive Mustang offensive attack in a 42-34 Valley Oak League win over the Mustangs.
East Union (4-0 VOL, 12-3 overall) built a comfortable 22-10 halftime lead, frustrating Oakdale standout Cassandra Clark with a relentless defensive effort on their leading scorer.
“We were able to extend our man-to-man defense a little and just trying to have somebody running at her the entire game,” East Union head coach Jim Agostini said. “When we went to a zone we still extended it out towards her.
“She is just a player that demands that kind of respect.”
The Lancers’ efforts worked, building a 22-point lead late in the third period to distance themselves for good. Oakdale went scoreless for nearly six minutes to open the second-half, scoring their first bucket at the 2:18 mark.
Lexy Posz had another phenomenal outing, helping in every way imaginable scoring 11 points, grabbing nine boards and dishing five assists.
Shalane Jackson added eight points and 10 rebounds, while Krystal Young finished with seven points and five steals.
East Union made things easier down the stretch, sinking 8-of-11 free throws in the final period. The Lancers will try and keep their league mark perfect when they make the trip to Stockton and take on the Weston Ranch Cougars at 7:15 p.m.
Sonora 67, Lathrop 38
LATHROP – The Wildcats’ size advantage in the post was too much for the Spartans to overcome Friday. Sonora (3-2) got a standout performance from its post presence Brittany Malone who led all scorers with 24 points.
Lathrop (0-5) was led by Jasmine Elder’s 10 points, followed by Krystal Ruiz and Erica Sanchez, who chipped in eight and six, respectively.
“We played tough for awhile, but we weren’t able to match up with their size,” Lathrop head coach Ed Fang said. “They were able to get the shots they wanted and convert. We had a tough time rebounding the ball against them.”
The Spartans will try and work things out at home against Ceres High at 7:15 p.m.
Weston Ranch 49,
Ceres 34
WESTON RANCH – The Cougars took a big step in getting back on the right track, handling a hot Ceres squad with relative ease Thursday in VOL action.
Timnesha Wilson continued her sturdy play, leading all scorers with 18 points. Weston Ranch (4-1, 9-6) jumped out to a 25-17 halftime lead and extended it to double-digits with a stifling defensive attack to open the second half.
“We went pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure and did a good job with it on the ball,” Cougars head coach Chris Bauer said. “It was good to see us get on the floor for loose balls and play with hustle and emotion that way.
“It was nice to get a solid win and even up our home record after that loss to Manteca (Jan. 8).”
Emoni Wilson and Jazmin Strane both chipped in with nine apiece in the win.
Central Valley 46,
Manteca 43
CERES – The Buffaloes (3-2, 10-6) needed to get back on track with a win against Central Valley, but things did not go according to plan in their VOL loss to the Hawks Thursday.
Manteca looked to be in good shape to bounce back from a three-point loss to Ceres, pushing out to a double-digit lead, but Central Valley stormed back, leaving Manteca to deal with another three-point defeat.
“The way we ended that game is just unacceptable,” Manteca head coach Andrea Hiatt said. “Our defense is what cost us at the end. We are just playing to inconsistent right now and it has to turnaround in a hurry.”
The Buffaloes didn’t help their cause at all, going 7-for-18 from the charity stripe. Manteca built a 14-point lead in the third quarter, but got outscored 22-7 in the final period.
Cynthia Perez led Manteca with 12 points and Sharon Washington chipped in nine. Davina Bennett and Mikayla Hasal both finished with seven points, while junior Mariah Navarro added six.
Ripon Christian 49,
Summerville 34
TUOLUMNE –The Knights used perfect defense in the second quarter and a offensive barrage in the final period to blow past the host Bears Thursday.
Kelsey Tillema led all scorers with 21 points, while teammate Amanda Boersma finished with 10. Tillema also led the team on the glass, reaching double-digits with 10 boards. Boersma paced the Knights (6-8) with five assists.
