With the Valley Oak League season approaching, Oscar Calix wanted to get all of his players involved in Manteca’s final tune-up.
It led to some uneven and sometimes sloppy play, but the Buffaloes still took care of visiting Rodriguez 58-43 behind Jada Ikharo’s 16 points, eight rebounds, 10 steals and five assists.
Mia Marquez amassed 27 points and seven steals for the Mustangs (5-11) from Fairfield.
Manteca (14-3) begins league tonight at home against Oakdale.
“I just wanted to give girls minutes so that when we get into league everybody is on the same page,” Calix said. “We got our new transfer today (Julliana Estrada) who is now eligible to play, so I’m just trying to get everybody playing together.”
The starters were dominant at the outset, ending an efficient first quarter with a 25-8 lead after Izabella Sanchez’s buzzer-beating layup off a pick-and-roll play with Michailla Springs.
Marquez and Rodriguez gained traction in the second quarter against the Buffaloes’ reserves, scoring eight unanswered points. Manteca regained control with the starting unit late in the half and remained ahead 34-25 at the intermission.
After forcing 10 turnovers in the first quarter, mostly off its press, Manteca committed 10 of its own in the second. Both teams had 12 at halftime and continued to their struggles in the second half. The Buffs finished with 28 turnovers against 29 for the Mustangs.
Missed layups also helped keep Rodriguez is in the game.
“Turnovers have been our problem all preseason,” Calix said. “Our biggest thing is we need to take better care of the ball. With the missed layups, I think it was just an off day. The turnovers are one of my biggest concerns. We have to limit those.”
Manteca opened the third quarter with a 17-2 run, getting 3-pointers from Brea Vieira, Springs and Ikharo. The Buffs carried a 52-30 lead into the fourth quarter and coasted to the win despite a 4 ½-minute scoring drought.
Vieira finished with eight points, Jaesha Dunn had nine points and five rebounds, and Sanchez collected seven points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Alexis Williams contributed four points, eight rebounds and four steals for Rodriguez.
