Escalon's JV girls split their games on the basketball court this week, while the freshmen took a pair of tough losses.
At the JV level, coach Andrew Beam said his squad was frustrated on Tuesday night on the road, losing to Hughson in the Jan. 17 contest by a 34-22 final.
"They were a lot taller than us, they played great defense and they shut us down offensively, we really couldn't get anything going," Beam said. "It was a very frustrating game."
Melissa Mullins had the hot hand for Escalon, hitting double digits in the loss by putting in 10 points against the taller Huskies.
"We get another shot at them in a couple of weeks," Beam said, noting that he hopes to make some adjustments for the rematch, which will be in Escalon.
On their home court on Thursday night - playing in a heatless gym because a prior gas leak forced officials to cut off the supply to the campus - the JV girls pulled together for a 4-point victory over visiting Hilmar. With the gas turned off, officials said there was no danger in being on campus and the contest was allowed to go on as scheduled. Beam said the lack of heat in the gym didn't pose a problem, as the girls just went about their business to take the win.
"They were up early by six, we came back and eventually went up by seven," Beam explained. "Then they caught up and it just went back and forth, we were just able to make a few good shots down the stretch."
Leading the way was Claudia Gomez with 13 points and Rachel Larsen chipping in eight.
FRESHMEN
For the freshman girls, the Tuesday game at Hughson was a 39-17 loss, with six different Lady Cougars contributing to the scoring.
The host Lady Huskies broke out with a 14-4 run in the first quarter and Escalon could never fully recover. They went cold over the second and third quarters, scoring just two points in each frame, but battled Hughson in the final quarter, outscored by just one point in that frame, 10-9.
Lindsay Miranda and Leone Rivers each had four points. Thursday at home against Hilmar it was a close game, one in which Escalon had the lead at the half but ended up losing by a 28-23 final.
"We were up by one at half," said coach Kristie Cathcart. "They started pressing and we had trouble breaking the press. They were up by 13 at one point in the fourth quarter and we started playing man, something we don't usually do, and we got some easy layups."
That helped Escalon trim the lead and battle back. Miranda paced the squad with 10 points on the night, with five from Alex McCulloch and four from Rivers.
"They didn't give up and kept fighting until the last second," Cathcart said of their effort.
The JV girls were slated to travel to Modesto Christian on Monday, Jan. 23 after press time for The Times for their only contest of the week, while the freshmen will be on the road Friday, Jan. 27 at Summerville.
"We played them once before at EHS and lost by one," Cathcart said of facing the Bears once again. "We are going to work on man defense and pressing so we can come back with a win."
At the JV level, coach Andrew Beam said his squad was frustrated on Tuesday night on the road, losing to Hughson in the Jan. 17 contest by a 34-22 final.
"They were a lot taller than us, they played great defense and they shut us down offensively, we really couldn't get anything going," Beam said. "It was a very frustrating game."
Melissa Mullins had the hot hand for Escalon, hitting double digits in the loss by putting in 10 points against the taller Huskies.
"We get another shot at them in a couple of weeks," Beam said, noting that he hopes to make some adjustments for the rematch, which will be in Escalon.
On their home court on Thursday night - playing in a heatless gym because a prior gas leak forced officials to cut off the supply to the campus - the JV girls pulled together for a 4-point victory over visiting Hilmar. With the gas turned off, officials said there was no danger in being on campus and the contest was allowed to go on as scheduled. Beam said the lack of heat in the gym didn't pose a problem, as the girls just went about their business to take the win.
"They were up early by six, we came back and eventually went up by seven," Beam explained. "Then they caught up and it just went back and forth, we were just able to make a few good shots down the stretch."
Leading the way was Claudia Gomez with 13 points and Rachel Larsen chipping in eight.
FRESHMEN
For the freshman girls, the Tuesday game at Hughson was a 39-17 loss, with six different Lady Cougars contributing to the scoring.
The host Lady Huskies broke out with a 14-4 run in the first quarter and Escalon could never fully recover. They went cold over the second and third quarters, scoring just two points in each frame, but battled Hughson in the final quarter, outscored by just one point in that frame, 10-9.
Lindsay Miranda and Leone Rivers each had four points. Thursday at home against Hilmar it was a close game, one in which Escalon had the lead at the half but ended up losing by a 28-23 final.
"We were up by one at half," said coach Kristie Cathcart. "They started pressing and we had trouble breaking the press. They were up by 13 at one point in the fourth quarter and we started playing man, something we don't usually do, and we got some easy layups."
That helped Escalon trim the lead and battle back. Miranda paced the squad with 10 points on the night, with five from Alex McCulloch and four from Rivers.
"They didn't give up and kept fighting until the last second," Cathcart said of their effort.
The JV girls were slated to travel to Modesto Christian on Monday, Jan. 23 after press time for The Times for their only contest of the week, while the freshmen will be on the road Friday, Jan. 27 at Summerville.
"We played them once before at EHS and lost by one," Cathcart said of facing the Bears once again. "We are going to work on man defense and pressing so we can come back with a win."
