In a busy first week of play for the Riverbank varsity basketball girls, the team put three wins on the books.

The squad, under head coach Lupe Galindo, got a pair of victories at the Escalon Lion’s Club Tournament and also won a non-league contest.

The Lady Bruins were at Golden Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 3 and earned a 47-38 win, tied with the host team at the half but pulling away with a 16-9 run in the third quarter.

They entered the three-day Escalon tourney on Wednesday, Dec. 4 with a contest against Central Catholic and took that game by a 42-31 final. A strong first half saw the varsity girls leading 13-8 after one quarter and 21-11 at the half and they never let up. Central went on a small run in the third and closed the gap to 32-25 by the end of the third quarter but it wasn’t enough, as the Lady Bruins outscored them 10-6 in the fourth to put the game away.

The toughest match of the tourney for the Riverbank squad came on Thursday, as they took on Bear Creek, the eventual tournament champion. The physical game saw the teams playing evenly through much of the first half but foul trouble impacted Riverbank’s game plan in the second. Bear Creek used its height and physical style of play to dominate and pull away over the final two periods, sending Riverbank to a 67-53 loss.

The Lady Bruins would bounce back on Friday to win their finale in the consolation bracket, topping Waterford by a 58-21 margin.

Riverbank used a decisive 21-5 run in the first quarter to set the tone and limited Waterford to single digits in each frame. It was a 29-9 Riverbank lead at the halfway point and they cruised to the win.

Action for the girls continues with a home game scheduled for tonight, Wednesday, Dec. 11 against East Union at 7:30 p.m.

Only one score was reported for Riverbank’s JV girls this week, taking a 37-16 loss to Central Catholic n Dec. 4.