One game was a lopsided contest, the other was a battle to the end, and both left Escalon’s JV basketball girls on the losing side of the final score.
They were at Hughson on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and fell 44-16 to the host Lady Huskies.
“In the first quarter they had 16 points,” head coach Robbie Leal said of the host squad getting off to a fast start.
Escalon had just five points in the quarter to trail early, 16-5.
“In the second quarter, we played really well, held them to six points,” Leal added.
The halftime score saw a 22-12 Hughson edge, with Leal feeling that his team was still in the game.
“Down by 10, that’s still a game,” he pointed out. “But then we had a little bit of a letdown in the second half, didn’t come close.”
Hughson went on a quick run to open up the second half and Escalon could just not recover.
“We weren’t really focused at practice the day before, not everyone’s head was in the game,” the coach noted.
Kalynn Cavanaugh had nine points in the loss.
Thursday, the JV girls were at home and hosted Hilmar, doubling up the visitors in the first half. A 12-4 first quarter and a 6-5 edge in the second saw Escalon take an 18-9 lead into the locker room.
“It was a fun game,” Leal said. “The outcome was disappointing, though.”
With the big lead, it appeared as though the JV girls took their foot off the gas and Hilmar took full advantage, climbing back into the contest and outscoring Escalon 14-7 in the third. That made it just a 25-23 lead for the host squad heading into the final quarter.
“We scored only nine points in the second half, with just two in the fourth quarter,” Leal said, with Hilmar getting off the court with a 31-27 victory.
“Mental lapses in the second half hurt us,” admitted Leal. “Not knowing who to guard, not communicating.”
Cavanaugh paced the team with eight points, while Isabella Jaime and Lia Wraught each chipped in with six.
The girls had a bye on Tuesday and are scheduled to host Riverbank on Thursday in a 6 p.m. contest to start the second half of Trans-Valley League play.
