NEWMAN, Calif – Looking to finish Trans-Valley League action on a strong note, the Orestimba High girls’ basketball team displayed that in three games last week.
Here is a breakdown of those games.
Orestimba 52, Hughson 32
In a home game on Friday, Orestimba (5-5 in the TVL, 13-11 overall) took charge early against the Huskies. The Warriors jumped out to a 14-7 lead after the first quarter, and increased their lead to 32-13 at halftime
“Other than our defense, our 3-point game was on point in the first half,” said Orestimba head coach Dwain Bell, whose squad made five 3-pointers in the half. “Then we came out in the third quarter and stayed hot (20-10) and hit three more 3-pointers.”
That helped Orestimba increase its lead to 52-23 entering the fourth quarter.
One of the pluses of playing a game of this nature in which one team was superior to the other on this day was playing everyone on the court.
“I was able to get some rest for some of our starters and our bench played spectacular in relief,” Bell said.
Olivia Gray, along with Warrior teammates Lilly Rocha and Shantelle Pizarro, scored 12 points each in the game. Ashlynn Bell and Mirella Fregoso each had eight points.
“It was also pretty good to get three girls into double digits and two more with eight points,” Coach Bell said. “This was our best team effort since we played Ripon Christian (in January). Everyone contributed to this win. Our energy was high on the bench and our aggressiveness on the court really showed. I believe we are starting to really put everything together and just in time for the (CIF Sac-Joaquin Section) playoffs.”
According to the section’s website – www.cifsjs.org – the playoffs are scheduled to start on Feb. 18.
Orestimba 32, Hilmar 30
In a league home game on Thursday, the Warriors jumped out to a 22-11 halftime lead.
“Our defense was really on point holding them to 11 points and getting two shot clock violations in the first half,” Bell said.
But the Yellowjackets stung back in the third quarter, thanks to a 10-4 scoring advantage. But Orestimba hung onto a 26-21 lead.
But Orestimba, despite being held to only six points in the fourth quarter, escaped with the win.
“In the second half I think we just got too complacent on offense and Hilmar made some great 3-point shots to bring them back,” Bell said. “Our defense the last two possessions was great and we were able to hold them off at the end to get the win.”
Gray had 12 points for the Warriors. Rocha followed with seven, Fregoso six, Natalie Corella three, Ashlynn Bell and Laylahni Garcia two each.
Pizarro contributed on the defensive side with five steals.
Ripon 32, Orestimba 26
In their third meeting in Ripon on Feb. 4, the host Indians held a 21-17 lead entering the final quarter. Ripon outscored the Warriors 12-8 in the last eight minutes of the game for the three-game sweep. The Indians beat Orestimba in their first meeting in January, and in a loser’s bracket game of the Todd Messersmith Classic Invitational at Liberty Ranch High of Galt in December. “We came out with much better energy to start the second half,” Bell said. “I believed to start the fourth quarter, we had a chance to win. We were playing much better as a team and were moving around the court more fluently. Ripon is a great team. There is a reason they are 10-0 in league. We just didn’t have the finish in us that we wanted.”
Both Orestimba and Ripon had a tough time finding the net in the first half. The Indians led 7-5 and outscored the Warriors 6-2 in the second quarter.
“We came out really flat in the first half,” Bell said. “We just couldn’t get anything going on offense. We came out really stagnant and had limited ball movement. On top of that, no shots were falling for us.”
Gray was the top scorer for Orestimba with seven points, Rocha and Solano six points each, Ashlynn Bell five and Pizarro two.
Upcoming games
On Tuesday, Orestimba hosted Ripon Christian.
Then on Thursday, the Warriors close out the regular season at Escalon. The game time is scheduled at 7 p.m.
“We have two tough games this week,” Bell said. “We really need to at least split these games to help our playoff chances. But I believe in these girls, and I believe in what we are building here, and they have really bought in and that’s all a coach can ask for. We have gotten great efforts from all 11 players on this roster from practice to the games.”
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.
