Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis is loving the fight his team plays with against its Western Athletic Conference rivals, but the Spartans are also showing their inexperience.
They struggled with late-game execution on Tuesday in a 41-38 home loss to second-place Pacheco, which previously edged Lathrop in overtime in their conference opener.
“We’re playing everybody tough,” he said. “We just don’t know how to win yet.”
The Panthers (6-2, 15-7) also have a youth-laden lineup. Mary Tava led them with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, while fellow freshman Nikki Nance had six points and 11 boards. Sophomore wing Jeanette Ortiz added 10 points and three steals.
Shakara Porter amassed seven points, 11 rebounds, four assists and seven steals for Lathrop. Kirat Sidhu had eight points, three steals and three blocks. Belinda Renteria racked up nine points and six rebounds.
Jaleiyah Ray (four points, four assists) dribbled the length of the court in the final seconds, but her 3-point attempt, contested well by Ortiz, was off the mark at the buzzer.
“They’re just a tough team overall,” Pacheco coach Trent Taylor said of the Spartans. “They’re scrappy, they play very hard and when the ball is on the ground, they’re going to fight for it. Anytime you hustle and play that hard, you always have a chance to win.”
Lathrop (3-5, 10-12) hurt its chances with multiple turnovers on two-on-one fastbreak opportunities down the stretch. Although the Spartans were able to force 10 Pacheco turnovers in the fourth quarter, they committed 11 of their own. They combined for 55 turnovers overall.
“Transition basketball is great, but understand when you have control of the game how we want to play now,” Davis said. “Don’t let somebody speed you up. We had the perfect match-ups to start the fourth quarter and I wanted us to run a specific play, and we just turned it over four times in a row.”
The giveaways led to some long scoring droughts for Lathrop in the final period after erupting for 18 points in the third. Pacheco, down 32-28, scored eight unanswered points in the first four minutes. Audrina Fisher (five points, four steals) ended the Spartans’ rut after forcing a backcourt turnover and scoring on an uncontested layup with 3:49 remaining. Lathrop, however, did not make another field goal until Sidhu’s 3-pointer with 14 seconds to go.
Pacheco’s Jeanette Ortiz made one of two free throws three seconds later, giving Lathrop an opportunity to tie it in the end.
Lathrop is still in the hunt for one of the three automatic playoff berths while on the bubble to qualify with an at-large bid. It does not get easier, though, as the Spartans travel to league-leading Grace Davis on Thursday.
