Playing on the biggest stage of their careers so far, Escalon’s varsity Lady Cougars fought hard but ultimately took a 64-48 loss in Friday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 championship game.
The contest, at UC Davis, paired the number three seed Escalon girls and the top seed, defending champion Colfax Falcons, with a 6 p.m. tip off.
Head coach Joseph Dalpogetti said the big stage proved to be a bit intimidating, with nerves getting in the way in the early going.
Colfax, which now has 13 Section titles to its credit in girls basketball, was at ease throughout the contest and their tough defense made it difficult for Escalon to get comfortable in their offense.
Senior Sammy Lang – who went in as the team leader in average points scored at 15 per game, was limited to just eight on the night, half of them coming in the fourth quarter.
“I think we were just very nervous and we came out not so strong and we didn’t get back on defense like coach said,” Lang explained. “We had a good second quarter, we cut it (the lead) to single digits and then we just couldn’t get the job done. We all made mistakes, including myself. I should’ve drove to the basket more but I did not and that’s just what happens.”
Freshman Arianna Velasco, who is the only Lady Cougar who plays basketball year-round, took the loss hard but said she was grateful for all that she learned this season playing on the varsity squad.
“I definitely learned that there’s a lot more to basketball than just playing in the game,” she shared. “There’s bonding with your team, there’s the scouting reports to get to know other teams, there’s just a mentality that you’ve got to learn. I’ll take that, definitely, to next year.”
Velasco also said the while the Falcons were a formidable opponent, she also feels Escalon didn’t play up to their potential.
“You’ve just got your good days and bad days; we just didn’t come out with that energy and that speed, I guess, and we got beat,” she said. “We just have to learn from it, go on to our next game and keep working.”
Colfax had an 11-7 lead after one and 29-21 at the half. They outscored the Lady Cougars 35-27 over the final two periods to take the win.
For four-year varsity starter Macie Vickers, the Section finals loss was a bittersweet ending to the Division 4 run, as she hit the 1,000-point mark in her career during a semifinal win over West Campus on Feb. 20.
“It was one of my goals but I didn’t think I could get it because I’m not really, like, a basketball player,” said Vickers, who counts softball as her first sport, volleyball as her second and basketball as her third.
However, she played basketball with the boys in elementary and middle school and said that made her realize she could play the game at a high level. That also put her onto the varsity squad as a freshman, where she learned from a core group of seniors and was able to parlay that experience into a solid four-year career, culminating in the 1,000-point honor.
Escalon defeated West Campus in that semifinal round game in the Escalon gym by a 49-47 nailbiter on Tuesday, Feb. 20 to advance to the final round to face off with Colfax. Vickers, like her teammates, knew they would have their hands full against the top seed.
“It was definitely going to be a dogfight,” she said, adding that the Falcons were the best team they saw during the season.
Vickers also chided herself for getting a technical foul at the end of the second quarter, which led to a three-point swing in Colfax’s favor, extending what would have been a five-point lead at the half to eight.
But the tough loss doesn’t take away from what has been an outstanding season, with Escalon claiming a share of the Trans-Valley League title with a 10-2 record and going 28-3 between preseason games, the league campaign and the Division 4 playoffs.
“It was a great accomplishment; I love playing with this team,” Vickers added. “I’ve been with Sammy (Lang) for two years and I’ve been with Chloe (Farley) for two and then Chloe’s (older) sister for two so it was just cool to see what the program has become from my freshman year to senior year.”
The team was supported by a large contingent of Escalon fans, scattered around the large arena on the UC Davis campus.
“No one likes to lose; I’m extremely competitive,” admitted Vickers, who said the team-first mentality is one she feels will continue to be a hallmark that will serve Escalon well going forward. “I’m playing for the girls on my team; I’m not really playing for myself anymore. I think playing for someone is better than playing for yourself.”
For his part, head coach Dalpogetti said Escalon represented their school and community well on the UC Davis court.
“What’s really amazing about this team is that, Ari plays basketball year-round, our freshman, Sammy used to but she hasn’t played AAU in two or three years, nobody else plays basketball and we had one of the worst summers of all time; we went to the Delta League and we went 0-10,” Dalpogetti explained. “We didn’t win a single game in the Delta League, summer league, we had rag tag, pulling up freshmen, sophomores, Madi is a big time softballer, Macie is a big time softballer, so we just had a rag tag, five or six girls from all four classes and threw them out on the court.”
Things came together, though, once the school hoops season began.
“I knew we were going to be good when the real season rolled around,” added Dalpogetti. “They just compete, every day at practice, they go hard at each other and they play for each other. This team absolutely loves one another so I honestly think they’re not mad for themselves, they’re mad for their teammates that they didn’t get the job done for each other.”
