Looking to get some revenge on the road for an earlier season loss at home against Riverbank, the varsity Lady Cougars just couldn’t quite pull it off.
Though they hung tough with the host Lady Bruins in the early going, they ultimately lost by a 53-37 decision.
“We got down 11-0 to start the game but cut it to 14-11 by the end of the first,” noted head coach Joseph Dalpogetti. “We scored first in the second quarter to make it 14-13 but that one-point deficit is as close as it would be the rest of the game.”
Down 25-14 at the half, Escalon hit a couple of treys to open the third quarter but Dalpogetti said the host Lady Bruins “always had an answer” and took control of the game.
“We had to scramble and try to trap even off misses late in the game which is not something we typically do, so we gave up a few cheap baskets at the end,” Dalpogetti said.
Macie Vickers paced the effort with 17 points, Analise Silveira and Kelsey Webster each had nine rebounds.
“Riverbank is ranked fourth currently in D4 Section playoffs,” added Dalpogetti. “And with their several transfers they’ll be a force in the postseason.”
Thursday, the girls came back to the home court and hosted Ripon Christian, getting a much needed win.
“We struggled with them the first round of league so it was nice to build up a 20-point lead in the second half,” Dalopgetti noted. “We led 14-8 after one; their star player Maddie Yonker had all eight of their points.”
The Escalon squad built up a 27-16 lead by half and then had a big run late in the third to go up by 21, and took the game by a 50-31 final.
“We let Maddie get about her average of 19 but limited everyone else,” explained the coach. “It was probably the best our press has looked in a few weeks in the third quarter. Analise led us with 15 and Macie had 13. Analise also had seven steals.”
The varsity girls are 14-7 overall and 5-3 in league behind Hughson and Riverbank. They were scheduled to play at Ripon on Jan. 31; then host Livingston on Thursday, Feb. 2 and Hughson on Friday, Feb. 3.
Junior Varsity
It was a solid week of play for the JV Lady Cougars, taking a 42-33 win on the road at Riverbank on Jan. 24. Aiden Hohenwarter pumped in 18 points on the night while Sky Anderson had 11.
“We were up by almost 30, I let everyone play in the fourth,” said head coach Sam Baez.
On the home court Thursday against Ripon Christian, the game went in the win column but it was a low-scoring contest, with Escalon winning 23-19.
“We were up almost 15 mid-fourth quarter after RC didn’t score in the third,” Baez explained. “They had six points to start the fourth, and they went on a run and we got lethargic … at least we got the ‘W’.”
Leading the way was Ayana Cocio, hitting double digits with 13 points.
