In a back-and-forth barnburner, Lathrop came up with the big stops in the end of a well-earned 60-59 girls basketball win over visiting Kimball on Tuesday.

Trailing by a point with 11 seconds remaining, the Spartans (7-2) forced a turnover and opted not to stop the action with a timeout. Riana Delacruz was fouled with 4.9 seconds to go, and she knocked down both free throws to put Lathrop ahead for good.

“This was a game of runs from both sides — every quarter, every minute, all game,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “We’d pull away and they would come back. They pulled in front of us in the fourth late in the game, but we were able to get three defensive stops.”

Porter finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Marianna Delgado also scored 17 points to go with five boards and two steals. Delacruz added 10 points, and Sierra Adams contributed eight rebounds.

Kirat Sidhu provided productive minutes off the bench and chipped in five points.

“I’m really proud of Kirat Sidhu,” Davis said. “She only had five points, but for five straight games coming off the bench she has scored points and played great defense. She’s accepting her role and getting better at it every game.

“We’ve got freshmen and sophomores logging major minutes also at critical times in the game, and they’re playing solid defense. I can live with their offensive struggles, as long as they are working hard on the defensive end.”
The Spartans hope to keep it rolling next Tuesday, Dec. 19 when they host battle-tested Ponderosa.

Atwater 69, East Union 45

Playing without top scorer Nylah Dyson for a second straight night, the Lancers (6-3) had trouble getting untracked offensively against the pressure defense from Atwater (6-3). The host Falcons were well ahead 41-15 by halftime and were led by Karissa Hukill’s 26-point explosion.

“Atwater is a good basketball team that comes at you with speed and pressure,” EU coach Jim Agostini said. “You don’t see it very often, and they do a very good job of it. Our team in the second half did well with it and we challenged them. We were down by 36 and it was almost a running clock, but we cut it to 18. As a coach, you’re always looking for good signs, and tonight we got to see how they handle adversity.”

Ava Barrera again paced East Union with 16 points. Alessandra Montes and Alexa Zuniga added 10 and nine, respectively. The Lancers welcome Gregori on Friday.

Ripon Christian 31, Johansen 27

Maddie Yonker reached a career milestone in the Knights’ home victory, breaking the 1,000-point barrier.

She led Ripon Christian (4-2) with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Reagan Van der Hoek contributed nine points and 11 boards.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Sierra 64, Hughson 57

The Timberwolves (7-3) got their inside-out attack going with Emil Esperanza and Josh Seals firing 20 points apiece. Esperanza knocked down four 3s in the process.

Ripon Christian 55, Modesto 35

In Modesto, the Knights (4-2) busted it wide open after leading 25-16 at halftime, outscoring the Pancers 22-8 in the third period.

Jace Beidleman and Jake Vander Veen spearheaded a balanced attack with 15 points each. Trey Van Groningen pitched in eight. Phillip Gonder scored 13 points to pace the Panthers (3-8).

Ripon Christian will next host Sierra of Tollhouse on Saturday for its long-awaited first home game of the season. It’s also a rematch of the California Interscholastic Federation Division V Northern Regional final.

Patterson 64, Ripon 47

A 21-10 second quarter gave visiting Patterson (8-0) the separation it needed to remain unbeaten. The Tigers were led by David Nnaji’s 21 points.

Ripon (6-4) was paced by Dawson Downs’ 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ethan Bauer also had 10 points, and Landon Gillespie chipped in nine.

GIRLS SOCCER

Sierra 2, Lodi 2

The two teams met again at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium after playing each other Saturday in the third-place game of Sierra’s Vern Gebhardt Champions Cup. The Timberwolves (9-2-2) won that match, 3-0.

In the rematch, Sierra scored both of its goals in the second half. Maitland Kohoutek accounted for one of those goals and assisted Hailey Cruz’s. Lodi (8-2-1) got its goals from Jocelyn Maldonado and Samantha Stone. Aubrey Anderson assisted both.

JV boys basketball

Sierra 59, Hughson 32

Sierra (6-2) surged to a 27-11 halftime lead and continued to build on it.

Lorenzo Jones led the way with 11 points. Cody Camarena knocked down three 3s for his nine points. Kalel Santos contributed with seven points.

Ten different Timberwolves scored, and eight of them tallied at least five points.

JV girls soccer

Sierra 8, Lodi 2

Kaylee Rodriguez stood out in the lopsided affair with three goals and two assists.

Ivy Sutton contributed two goals and one assist. Kylee Pimentel also had a brace.

Mikayla Mercia added a goal and an assist. Abigail Garcia and Hayley Zeiher each pitched in an assist.

Frosh girls basketball

Kimball 45, Lathrop 24

Lathrop struggled offensively in the non-league defeat. Laniya Stroud Prince paced the Spartans with six points.

Frosh boys basketball

Sierra 42, Hughson 31

Isaiah Revives drained three 3s and scored 11 points to help lead the Timberwolves (3-2).

Karanbir Bhandal posted 10 points, five steals and three assists. Isaac Kempf added six points and seven rebounds. Arsh Gosal pulled down eight boards.