Two home games in the past week both went in the books as victories for Escalon’s varsity basketball girls.

The Lady Cougars defeated Venture Academy and Calaveras in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs, hosting Venture Academy on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Calaveras on Thursday, Feb. 19.

For head coach Joseph Dalpogetti, he said the solid teamwork both times on the home court made the difference, with junior Ari Velasco leading the way.

The Feb. 17 game was the second time this season the Lady Cougars had seen Venture Academy and they took a 54-35 win in the opening round contest. Escalon earned the number four seed in Division 4; Venture Academy came in as the number 13 seed.

“They led us for two-and-a-half quarters in the first round of the Gregori Tournament in mid-December,” Dalpogetti explained, adding that Escalon was able to gain the lead and finish that game with a 51-46 win. “But their coach was the first to triangle and two Madi (Babasa) and Ari (Velasco) so we knew we would get more “junk” defenses which they are typically referred as.”

With Babasa out with an injury, teams have focused primarily on shutting down Velasco, but to no avail.

“We prepped for a box and one and a straight double team, which was their game plan. Ari dominated the game,” Dalpogetti said. “Even though she only had 17 points – “only” – it was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen.”

Venture Academy took an early 6-2 lead, drawing on the experience of many of their players in year-round basketball, but Escalon settled in and took a 7-6 lead. After Venture gained the upper hand at 12-11, the host Lady Cougars took over from there and “never looked back,” said the coach.

Ayana Cocio hit a trio of three-point baskets in quick succession in the second quarter and Escalon had a 30-14 lead at the half. Venture Academy also hit a couple back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get closer than 15 points and Escalon rolled to the 54-35 win.

Velasco had 17 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four steals and four blocks. Cocio finished with nine points and Avery Bartelink added 13 points and 15 rebounds.

On Thursday night, in the quarterfinal round, Escalon hosted the number five seed Calaveras team, a 64-24 winner over number 12 Sonora in the first round.

While the teams were ranked fourth and fifth in the division, Escalon had the upper hand from the start, playing to a 49-24 win in a game where they were never truly threatened. Calaveras had trouble hitting shots while Escalon once again got a strong effort from Velasco, who put in 22 of the team’s 49 total points, more than half of them from the free throw line.

“Honestly, it was just to be aggressive,” Velasco said of her mindset entering the game, knowing that she was most likely going to be the focus on the Calaveras defense. “Our game plan was to be strong because we know they’re really tough, really strong, so the plan was (for us) to be strong and have a lot of energy.”

Velasco said the presence of several JV players, brought up for the playoff run, added to the energy in the Cougar Dome, which saw plenty of fans on each side of the gym to cheer on the teams.

“I think the bench did a great job, I love the bench, honestly they’re doing such a great job,” Velasco said.

Junior Jayci Trimble also contributed some key buckets and was a tough defender for her team.

“This is my first (playoff) run with the team and it feels amazing,” she said. “I love the energy we get and I’m so glad we got home playoff games; it’s such a great feeling.”

Trimble added that they had to respect the visiting Lady Red Hawks and their proficiency on the boards.

“That’s a great rebounding team, that’s what we said coming into this game, they’re bigger and they’re going to go after any ball … so we knew going into this game that we had to be strong no matter what, be strong with the ball and just play as hard as we could,” Trimble said.

As a freshman up on the varsity squad this season, Avery Bartelink has emerged as an integral part of the team and said preparation, especially in the playoffs, has been important.

“Before the game, we went over the scouting report,” she said of focusing on how to defend against Calaveras. “We just needed to be really aggressive overall to get the job done.”

Escalon had an 11-4 lead after the first quarter, 22-7 at halftime. They extended it to 34-13 after three and put a 49-24 victory in the books. Velasco had 22 points, with seven from Bartelink, six from Allie Fiser, five from Trimble, four from Tyli Holback and three from Cocio.

“We do scout once we get into league and the playoffs so we did watch four to five films on them, we knew that they would settle for long two’s, we knew their shooting percentages, we knew what we had to shade toward and take away,” Dalpogetti said. “The girls did a really good job executing the game plan.”

He said his team spent most of the game in zone defense, forcing Calaveras into taking tough shots as well as contesting those shots.

Dalpogetti said they do “lean into “ the defense a lot, especially since that part of the game is always with them, even if the offense has a tough shooting stretch in any given game.

“Ari is unbelievable, what she’s doing right now, she’s had a different look in her eye since the postseason started,” Dalpogetti said of the junior leader. “She’s such a humble kid, I have to tell her to be selfish, her teammates don’t care that she shoots the ball or that she dominates the ball for us, nobody cares because she’s such a great kid.”

Escalon was slated to travel to Central Catholic for the semifinal round game on Tuesday, Feb. 24, after The Times went to press. Central entered the playoffs as the number one seed, hosting number four Escalon. The other semifinal game had number two Liberty Ranch hosting number three West Campus, with the winners of the Tuesday night contests advancing to the Section title game scheduled for the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Friday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.