In a classic small-versus-tall matchup, it was the scrappy play and outside shooting of first-place Lathrop that prevailed Tuesday against visiting Mountain House.
Despite a considerable disadvantage in height, the Spartans may have put together one of their most complete efforts of the season so far with the 55-40 victory that gives them a two-game lead over the next closest teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
“Everybody’s going to attack us inside. We’ve never had height,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said, later adding, “I can put five shooters out on the floor. I’ll play you with my speed. You go with your height; we’ll take that trade-off. Tonight, it worked out.”
Sanah Sunner orchestrated the half-court attack for Lathrop (6-0 WAC, 13-6 overall), finishing with 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. Fellow senior Alaba Olaleye contributed 13 points, six rebounds (five offensive) and three steals, while Tatiana Lowery drained four 3s for her 12 points.
Marianna Delgado (six points, five rebounds, five steals, three assists) and Sunner knocked down two 3s apiece.
It took a few minutes for Lathrop to adjust to Mountain House’s size. Six-foot-1 center Sophie Fletcher compiled 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs (4-2, 11-9), and Jariah Indalecio had 10 points, three steals and two blocks. Their top player, Sariah Fobert, was limited to six points and five boards.
Mountain House dominated the glass in the first half, 26-17. Lathrop had just one defensive rebound in the opening quarter. The Spartans did a better job in the second half but still loss the battle of the boards overall, 44-33. They found other ways to win.
“Since we are a shorter team this year, we have been practicing on how to get around bigger teams,” Olaleye said. “We just have to outrun them, be quicker to the rebounds and box out more. We have to (focus on) interior defense and be more disciplined so that we can overcome those big teams and not let them win because of our size.”
Freshman Shakara Porter, a 5-8 wing, played big off the bench, securing a game-high 14 rebounds.
“She gives us some height, aggression on rebounds and she doesn’t let up on defense,” Olaleye said. “She’s great to have her as a teammate, and when she’s a senior she’s going to ball out.”
Lathrop fell behind early 10-3, but was able to tie it up at 13-13 by the end of the quarter and take a 24-21 lead at halftime. The Spartans were able to overcome the sizable disparity in rebounds by taking care of the ball, committing just three turnovers in the first half and ending with just 12 total.
The Spartans began their breakaway in the third quarter, netting nine unanswered points for a 39-27 lead as Mountain House went on a 4-minute, 23-second scoring drought.
Sunner, who embraced her role as facilitator for the first three quarters, took over in the fourth, scoring nine points to help secure another big conference win.
“We just came out with a lot of energy.,” Sunner said. We knew that with them being a bigger team, we were going to have to work a lot on the outside. We were able to share the ball more, because a lot of us our shooters. We handled the ball really well. With us just moving the ball, that carried the entire offense.”
Lathrop is expecting another tough test Thursday when Los Banos (3-2, 10-9) visits.
“Every game is our next biggest game,” Davis said. “That’s the only one we’re focused on. Teams in this league have gotten better, and that makes it fun.”
