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Final Week Push For Bruin Winter Sports
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Lady Bruin senior guard Areli Zamora drives the ball down court in the first quarter against the visiting Lady Knights of Ripon Christian High School on Tuesday, Feb. 11. It was Senior Night, the last home game of the season for Riverbank, and they fell, 42-37, coming back a bit after being down by 10 at the half. Ric McGinnis/The News

Action in the Trans-Valley League officially wrapped up for Bruin sports teams this past week, the regular winter seasons for soccer and basketball coming to an end. The Riverbank squads were busy, with all taking on TVL opponents.

 

Lady Bruins Basketball

Tuesday, Feb. 11, it was varsity girls basketball, saying goodbye to the home crowd with a game against Ripon Christian’s Lady Knights. The Lady Bruins once again fought hard but came up just a little bit short, falling 42-37. As the final home game, it was Senior Night, with graduating seniors introduced with their families at the beginning of the contest.

They finished their season on the road at Livingston on Thursday, Feb. 13, falling 52-20 to the Lady Wolves.

 

Lady Bruins Soccer

On Thursday, Feb. 13, it was varsity girls soccer’s turn for Senior Night, again with players and families and friends introduced to the crowd before the match. Riverbank fell to local rival Escalon’s Lady Cougars, 2-0. In an earlier game during the week, Tuesday, Feb. 11, they came up short while hosting the Lady Yellowjackets of Hilmar, 5-1.

 

Bruins Basketball

The high point of the week came with varsity boys basketball on Friday, Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

The Bruins hosted the Wolves of Livingston, handing them a Homecoming defeat, the varsity boys defending their home court, winning 79-58. Two basketball seniors, Ty Luu, and Mikayla Macias, were also named Homecoming King and Queen, respectively, as part of the festivities.

It was Riverbank’s final home game of the season, but celebrated as Homecoming. Riverbank’s Senior Night was hosted previously, with the seniors recognized at a home game on Feb. 7.

Unfortunately, earlier in the week, Riverbank dropped a TVL game at Ripon Christian, falling to the host Knights, 54-42.

Riverbank was scheduled to travel to Newman to take on Orestimba in a ‘play-in’ game for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs on Tuesday night, Feb. 18 after The News went to press. At number 16, Orestimba was given the right to host the number 17 Bruins, with the winner advancing to the opening round, facing off on the road against top seed Sonora on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The Riverbank-Orestimba match up was one of three ‘play-in’ games due for Division IV, with others featuring number 19 Linden at number 13 Foothill, and number 18 Mesa Verde at number 15 Western Sierra.

Along with the Bruins, other Trans-Valley League teams represented in Division IV postseason play are number 10 Ripon, number 11 Escalon and number 12 Hilmar.

Also from the TVL, Ripon Christian entered the playoffs as the top seed in Division VI and had a first round bye, not scheduled to play a game until Friday, Feb. 21.

 

Bruins Soccer

Riverbank’s varsity boys soccer team ended its regular season with a pair of losses, falling by a 1-0 final to Hilmar on Feb. 11 and then heading out on the road, battling to a 3-2 loss in Escalon on Thursday, Feb. 13.

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Junior Lucas Villapudua brings the ball across mid-court to help Riverbank finish out its Homecoming game with a 79-58 win against the visiting Wolves of Livingston. It was also the last TVL game on the RBK home court for the 2019-20 season. Ric McGinnis/The News
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Riverbank’s goalkeeper leaps up but isn’t quite able to deflect the header as Escalon’s Mya Beary successfully heads the ball into the goal during Thursday action. Visiting Escalon took a 2-0 win off the pitch in the final game of the season for Riverbank. Ric McGinnis/The News