Riverbank High's varsity girls basketball team trailed host Ripon by just 10 points at the half on Thursday, pushing one of the Trans-Valley League's top programs to the brink.
But Ripon's aggressive press defense and powerful post offense proved too much to overcome, and the Indians rallied to a dominant final two periods for a 61-23 victory at home.
"We could not execute on their press," Riverbank coach Tim Carnes said. "They beat us a up a bit in that second half."
Riverbank trailed just 11-8 after a quarter and 23-13 at the half. Ripon pulled ahead with a 14-2 third quarter run and added 24 more in the fourth.
"The score does not show how much effort our girls put into the game," Carnes said. "The fact of the matter is we were doing pretty well and we got punished for it."
Kaitlynn Deabenderfer scored five to lead the team while Amanda Cagle, Veronica Lopez and Brianna Magana each scored four. Stefani Araujo added two and Nia Zamora scored 1.
"We just got outhustled in the third quarter and I unloaded my bench in the fourth," Carnes said.
Riverbank (0-2 TVL, 7-11 overall) hosted Escalon on Monday, though results were not available at press time. The team earlier opened league play with a 46-18 loss to Ripon Christian.
The team battles one of the best programs in the state, Modesto Christian, on Thursday.
Junior Varsity
Jade Finch scored 11 as Riverbank's junior varsity squad fell to a 26-12 deficit at the half and ended with a 54-21 loss to host Ripon on Thursday.
Amy McDonald added four points while Monica Guzman put up three.
"They did a real nice job putting pressure on us," Riverbank coach Gary Dean said. "We have to learn how to play together and play smarter."
Riverbank is .500 in overall contests this season and 0-2 in the TVL.
But Ripon's aggressive press defense and powerful post offense proved too much to overcome, and the Indians rallied to a dominant final two periods for a 61-23 victory at home.
"We could not execute on their press," Riverbank coach Tim Carnes said. "They beat us a up a bit in that second half."
Riverbank trailed just 11-8 after a quarter and 23-13 at the half. Ripon pulled ahead with a 14-2 third quarter run and added 24 more in the fourth.
"The score does not show how much effort our girls put into the game," Carnes said. "The fact of the matter is we were doing pretty well and we got punished for it."
Kaitlynn Deabenderfer scored five to lead the team while Amanda Cagle, Veronica Lopez and Brianna Magana each scored four. Stefani Araujo added two and Nia Zamora scored 1.
"We just got outhustled in the third quarter and I unloaded my bench in the fourth," Carnes said.
Riverbank (0-2 TVL, 7-11 overall) hosted Escalon on Monday, though results were not available at press time. The team earlier opened league play with a 46-18 loss to Ripon Christian.
The team battles one of the best programs in the state, Modesto Christian, on Thursday.
Junior Varsity
Jade Finch scored 11 as Riverbank's junior varsity squad fell to a 26-12 deficit at the half and ended with a 54-21 loss to host Ripon on Thursday.
Amy McDonald added four points while Monica Guzman put up three.
"They did a real nice job putting pressure on us," Riverbank coach Gary Dean said. "We have to learn how to play together and play smarter."
Riverbank is .500 in overall contests this season and 0-2 in the TVL.
