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Stitts 26 points lead shorthanded Weston Ranch girls
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ANTIOCH — Down three starters, including second-leading scorer Asia Stamps (ankle), the Weston Ranch girls basketball team relied on Justice Stitt to provide a spark on offense and stout defense to dispatch Antioch 57-37 Wednesday for its third consecutive win.

Stitt made 4 of 8 3-pointers and poured in a game-high 26 points to shoulder the scoring load, but coach Darrell Johnson said it was the team’s defense and overall floor game that stood out most.

“Our defensive rotations tonight were fantastic,” Johnson said. “As a team we’re maturing at the right time. We played great overall, especially for having three starters out.”

Vanessa Vega did her part by collecting nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Freshman point guard Nia Boston contributed seven points and five assists. Johnson lauded Boston for controlling the tempo of the game.

Antioch (1-6) was led by Jasmin Davis’ 15 points.

The Cougars (4-3) open the West Coast Jamboree against Castlemont at Valley Christian of Dublin on Dec. 28. They’ll compete in the Pearl Division.

 

BOYS

Lathrop 78, Franklin 64

STOCKTON — Lathrop (6-3) amassed 30 points in the second quarter, then held the Yellowjackets (1-8) to just nine points in the third to gain separation. 

Junior Ballard fired 30 points to lead the Spartans. He was supported by Michael Mills’ 14 points. Franklin’s Milton Jordan had game-high honors with 31 points.

Lathrop is part of the Platinum Division of the St. Hope Elite Hoop Classic, which begins Monday at Sacramento High. The Spartans face Oakland at 1:30 p.m.

 

Sierra 59, Enochs 49

STOCKTON — Sierra (7-2) rallied for its fifth straight victory behind the hot shooting of Bikram Thiara and Jamille Grady in the first round of the Lincoln Holiday Classic.

Thiara made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, while Grady hit three 3s and scored 13 points. The Timberwolves square off with Gregori in the semifinals tonight at 8 p.m.

 

Ripon Christian 65, Los Banos 46

OAKDALE — The Knights (8-2) delivered the knockout blow early in their first game of the 47th annual Oakdale Rotary Classic on Wednesday, outscoring Los Banos (5-4) 17-2 in the opening quarter.

“We’ve had some bad starts over the last five games and we had a good one tonight,” RC coach Mark Hofman said. “The guys were focused and we had a very balanced offensive attack.”

Ty Beidleman led the charge with 12 points. Sophomore Cade Alger chipped in 10 points, and Jadon Vander Molen ended up with nine.

Los Banos’ Cameron Gomez paced all scorers with 19 points. Ripon Christian takes on Trans-Valley League rival Hughson in the semifinal round tonight starting at 6:30 p.m.

Sophomore girls

Liberty Ranch 41,

Ripon Christian 28

RIPON — Alexis Hilvers (eight blocks, six rebounds) and Sarah Brown did most of the damage for Ripon Christian, scoring 11 points apiece. 

 

Weston Ranch 43, Antioch 25

ANTIOCH — Mariah Ghattas spearheaded the Cougars with 15 points.

 

Freshman girls

Antioch 35, Weston Ranch 24

ANTIOCH — The host Panthers were down 9-2 to start but finished with a 13-4 run to sprint away with the win.

Zabriah Hendrix led Weston Ranch with seven points and four steals. Hanta Boatman (seven rebounds) and Darnaysha Huff (six rebounds, two blocks) tallied six points apiece.