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Riverbank Varsity Basketball Teams Defeat Escalon
League Victories
VERDIN
Riverbanks Jenny Verdin (23) shoots over a defender in the second quarter of what became a nail-biter overtime win for the Lady Bruins over visiting Ripon Christian on Thursday, Feb. 4. Riverbank squeaked out a last minute victory at home, 45-44. RIC MCGINNIS/THE NEWS

 

This past week saw two cliff hanging basketball contests at home by the varsity girls basketball team, with each resulting in a one-point win, while the varsity boys split their games while on the road.

The Lady Bruins first faced rival Escalon on Tuesday, Feb. 2, on the home court. Outscored in the first half, they tallied six points more than the Lady Cougars over the final two quarters to pull off the 50-49 win.

Two days later, on Thursday last week, the Riverbank girls hosted Ripon Christian in another exciting game.

After being outscored in the first three quarters against RC, the varsity girls came back to tie it up at the end of regulation play with a two-point shot from senior Jenny Verdin. The four minute OT period found Hailey Rodgers putting the Lady Bruins ahead with a free throw basket with 30 seconds left in the game. RHS was able to hold off the Lady Knights, with a 45-44 final score.

In JV girls basketball, Riverbank lost to Escalon, 45-20, while against Ripon Christian, they went down, 46-18.

At the same time the varsity girls were sliding by the Lady Cougars at home, last Tuesday, the Bruin varsity boys were accomplishing the same feat against Escalon, rolling to a 69-55 win on the road.

The lower level teams were not as successful in the Cougar gym, as the JV boys fell in a 58-50 battle and Escalon’s freshmen avenged an earlier season loss to the youngest Bruins. The game was tight all the way through, with the host team posting a 58-54 win.

On Friday, Feb. 5, the Bruin boys traveled to Ripon Christian, with the varsity losing to the host Knights, 59-53.

The JV Bruins also lost, 63-36 to RC, but the freshmen won their contest, 70-67.

This week, girls basketball was slated to host Hilmar on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and Senior Night is set for tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 11 in the Ray Fauria Memorial Gymnasium. The girls finish the season on the road on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at Hughson.

On the boys side, the Bruins were to travel to Hilmar yesterday and to Ripon High tomorrow. They finish their season hosting Hughson and Senior Night festivities on Feb. 16.