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Varsity Girls Net Two Wins On Court
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Earning two wins by a combined total of three points, the varsity Lady Cougars are gaining some confidence on the court.

But, coach Gary Ball said, they still need to work on all aspects of the game before they get into the Trans-Valley League basketball schedule next month.

Monday, Dec. 13, they went on the road to Turlock Christian and battled to a 37-35 win.

"We made it a little more interesting than it needed to be," said Ball. "We were up by two at the half, 17-15."

Escalon took an early 10-6 lead, then stayed a few points better than their opponent the rest of the way to take the win.

"We were struggling shooting, we had wide open shots, we just couldn't get it done," Ball said, noting that he would have been more comfortable with a larger lead.

Kacey Ball led the team with 10 points on the night, Kat Tavares added some spark with two 3-pointers and a 2-pointer for eight total.

"We went 9-for-17 from the free throw line," added Ball. "It was a close game all the way but we managed to eke it out."

Thursday on the home court, the girls hosted Pitman and avenged an earlier season loss, defeating the Pride by one point, 39-38.

"They had beaten us in the championship game of our tournament, 39-26, so we avenged that loss, we adjusted somewhat," Ball explained.

Making a big move into the offensive scheme was Lauren Brown, hitting for 17 points on the night.

Pitman took a 22-18 lead at the half, but the Lady Cougars outscored the visitors 12-8 in the third quarter, 9-8 in the fourth for the win.

"Eight of Lauren's points came in the third quarter," said Ball. "Kelly Colin also had a good night, she hit one three and two twos, she had seven points for us."

Tavares and Ball played solid defensively and the coach praised Sandi French for turning in her best defensive game of the year so far.

"It was a physical game," Ball said. "But we played as a team, we had more energy and we played an aggressive game."

Sophomore Jennifer Costa continues to improve, said the coach, getting some playing time each game.

"To be 5-2 at this point is not bad and this was a big win for us," Ball said of downing Pitman. "This time of year, it's hard to keep focused but we're getting better."

The varsity girls were slated to close out the calendar year with a Monday afternoon game, Dec. 20 hosting Bret Harte and then were scheduled to play at Denair on Tuesday evening, Dec. 21. They pick up again after the holiday break, going to play at Amador on Tuesday, Jan. 4. League play begins with a road game at Riverbank on Monday, Jan. 10.

By MARG JACKSON