ELK GROVE – The Ripon Indians had to conquer a double-overtime mountain to get to the Consumnes Oaks Tournament championship, but beating undefeated Argonaut High for the title was not in the plans as Ripon dropped the finale 59-32 Wednesday.

Ripon (4-4) established themselves as a worthy squad throughout the first half, finishing the first quarter tied 12-12 and heading into the intermission down by just four. Argonaut was able to go on a 24-6 third quarter run, sealing the deal on the tournament crown.

“We had some turnovers in that third period and they turned them into easy points,” Ripon head coach George Contente said. “We just didn’t take care of the ball and we didn’t pass well.

“Our spacing wasn’t that good on offense and it created a lot of problems.”

Argonaut (9-0) was able to capitalize, outscoring Ripon 35-12 over the final two periods of action.

“They are a good team, there is no doubt about that,” Contente said of Argonaut. “They do a good job of getting the ball inside to their big girl, but it really boils down to us not playing our best basketball.”

Sereena Hertel and Kendra Contente led the Indians with eight points apiece, while Rachel Rodriguez and Paulina Ceja chipped in with four. The Indians landed two players on the all-tournament team, with Lauren Feddersen and Kendra Contente garnering tournament recognition.

The Indians will try and get back in the win column when they open the first-round of the West Coast Jamboree against James Logan High Dec. 28.

The Spartans closed out tournament action with a strong performance, handling Encina High in consolation action.

Freshman point guard Jazlyn Simon was splendid for Lathrop, putting in 22 points on three-for-three shooting from 3-point land. Simon also pulled down four rebounds, swiped five steals and only had one turnover on her way to the all-tournament team.

Erica Sanchez chipped in eight points and 14 boards, while Jasmine Elder added seven points, six assists and eight rebounds.

“We were able to play Sierra really tough last night and it carried over into today’s game,” Lathrop head coach Ed Wang. “The girls know what to do, but sometimes we’re just overmatched.

“I was pleased with their execution tonight.”

Lathrop (2-8) will get the Valley Oak League season underway when they play host to the Central valley Hawks Jan. 5 at 7:15 p.m.

The Timberwolves closed out its non-league schedule with a win over the tournament host during consolation action Wednesday.

Sierra (5-5) jumped out to an 18-6 first quarter lead, but had to hold off a determined Consumnes Oaks squad, which cut a double-digit Sierra lead to six late in the final period.

“They opened the game running a real aggressive man-to-man press and we were able to take advantage of that and score some easy points,” Sierra head coach Steve Unterholzner said. “I think they got a little wiser in the second half and slowed the game down a little bit.”

Michelle Arroyo turned in Sierra’s high-point performance with nine points, while teammate Lia Unterholzner chipped in with eight.

Alsia Atkins, Jaslynn Liotard  and Jasmine Currimao all finished with six points. Liotard’s play over the three-day tourney earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.

Sierra will try and maximize what little practice time they have remaining before the kickoff of the VOL season.

“They are starting to buy in,” Unterholzner said. “We’re not where we want to be, but we’ve got five practices between now and Sonora to get everything in order.”

ATWATER — The Lancers were able to give themselves something to be proud of for the holidays, posting back-to-back road wins with their second victory in two nights in a win over the Falcons.

Shalane Jackson turned in a game-high 18 points and teammate Krystal Young finished with 16 as the Lancers improved to 6-1 with the big road win.

“The first thing we talked about before the game was how these last two road games will be good for us,” East Union head coach Jim Agostini said. “We played back-to-back nights, on the road and it was scheduled for a reason. As a program we saw that there are going to be back-to-back games in league, so the girls needed to get that experience on how their bodies were going to feel.

“Anytime you can win on back-to-back nights, on the road, it’s a good sign for the girls.”

Lexy Posz barely missed a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine boards, while Rachel Oneal contributed 12 rebounds and a game-high six blocks for East Union.

CARMICHAEL – The Knights took full advantage of an opportunity to make a statement with a big road win, beating the Vikings with relative ease Tuesday in Carmichael.

Tyler Goslinga continued his season-long dominance, turning in a game-high 28 points to pace the Knights. Ripon Christian did a job on Vikings leading scorer Nate Coppernoll, holding their top scorer to just two points, over 18 points under his season average.

Logan Vos finished in double-digits with 12, while Steve Vander Molen and Dylan Van de Pol finished with nine and seven points, respectively.