NEWMAN, Calif. – In its first season in the Trans-Valley League, the Orestimba High girls basketball team is making some noise.

The Warriors won two of three games last week to improve to 3-3 in the TVL and 11-9 overall.

Here are the results of those league games.

Escalon 60, Orestimba 43

Playing on the road Friday, Orestimba and Escalon started off with minimal scoring; the host Cougars outscored the Warriors 9-5 in the first quarter.

But Escalon picked up the pace in the second quarter with 21 points. Its defense held Orestimba to 12, which led to the Cougars holding a 30-17 halftime lead.

The Warriors battled back in the second half, outscoring Escalon 30-26. But the Cougars’ surge in the second quarter led to the win.

“It was a great game,” said Orestimba head coach Dwain Bell. “We cut their lead to four in the third quarter, but Escalon made four 3-pointers in the third and fourth quarters to pull away.”

Leading scorers for the Warriors in the game were Shantelle Pizarro with nine points, Ashlynn Bell, Mirella Fregoso and Olivia Gray eight points each, Mallory Solano and Laylahni Garcia three points each and Lilly Rocha and Natalie Corella with two points each.

Orestimba 50, Ripon Christian 33

In a home game on Thursday, the Warriors jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first quarter that would be expanded to 32-11 at halftime.

“We played how I know we should play have been playing all year,” Dwain Bell said.

What helped the Warriors was making nine 3-pointers.

“We came out hot in the first half,” Bell said.

The top scorers were Pizarro with 16 points, which included four 3-pointers. Rocha and Ashlynn Bell each had 11 points and combined to make seven 3-pointers. Gray had four points, Corella and Solano three points each and Mirella Fregoso two.

Orestimba 45, Hughson 41 (OT)

The Warriors outscored the Huskies in overtime a league game on Jan. 21 for the win. The game was knotted at 34-34 after four quarters.

Bell had 11 points for Orestimba, while teammate Pizarro followed with 10. Rocha and Gray each had eight points.

Upcoming games

Orestimba is back in action this Friday when Sonora pays a visit for a 5:30 p.m. league contest. The game is part of a doubleheader with the Sonora-Orestimba boys contest.

The Warriors welcome Ripon on Tuesday, Feb. 4 in another league game. That game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushphotography.