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Title game awaits Escalon at UC Davis on Friday
Lady Cougar basketball
S Lang
Senior Sammy Lang is shown in earlier round action on the home court against Sonora; she leads the team with an average of 15 points per game. Escalon travels to UC Davis on Friday, Feb. 23 to face off with Colfax for the D4 Section championship. Marg Jackson/The Times

It will be a battle of number three seed Escalon and top seed Colfax on Friday evening, Feb. 23 for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 girls basketball title.

The Lady Cougars prevailed in a Tuesday night, Feb. 20 semifinal game at home against number seven West Campus, which had earlier upset number two seed Marysville, 40-39, in the quarterfinals.

Escalon defeated Sonora in the quarterfinals and took down Sac High in the opening round on their way to the title contest. In the Tuesday night game, a double-digit lead at the half for Escalon slowly eroded, as West Campus played a strong second half. There was some last second drama, as Macie Vickers deflected an inbounds pass by West Campus and Escalon gained control. After Escalon worked the ball around the perimeter, the visiting team was forced to foul, with precious seconds ticking off the clock.

Senior Sammy Lang was able to make the visitors pay, as she sank both free throws and the Lady Cougars – much to the delight of the fans in the home stands – were able to put the 49-47 win on the books.

That advances them into the championship game at UC Davis.

Top seed Colfax has put up wins against Orestimba (77-28, opening round); Amador (59-24, quarterfinals); and Riverbank, (64-47, semifinal round) along their path to the title contest.

The Falcons come in at 29-2 overall and were first in their Pioneer Valley Legue at 13-1.

Escalon’s Lady Cougars enter the championship contest with a 28-2 overall record; they went 10-2 in league to share the Trans-Valley League title.

In Tuesday night’s semifinals, senior Macie Vickers also eclipsed the 1000-point mark in her outstanding EHS career.

Team leaders for the season are Sammy Lang, averaging just over 15 points, seven rebounds and six steals per game; Madi Babasa with a 44 percent field goal shooting percentage; and Arianna Velasco with four assists per game.

Tip off time for the game at UC Davis is 6 p.m. Friday; there will be a send off for the team at 1:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 from the student parking lot at Escalon High School. All in the community are encouraged to come and show support for the girls as they leave town for the Section finals.