Notebook: Atwater avenges loss to El Capitan, closing in on first CCC title since 1988.
.JPG "Atwater senior Lexi Valencia (11), shown here in a game against Buhach Colony earlier this year, scored 19 points to help Atwater rout El Capitan 76-31 on Tuesday night at Atwater High.")
Tuesday night’s game against El Capitan was personal for the Atwater High girls basketball team.
The Falcons weren’t happy with their performance in a three-point loss to the Gauchos on Jan. 10. They took it personally when they left the floor to chants of overrated by the El Capitan student section.
“They all know what everyone was saying about them,” said Atwater coach JR Davis. “Everyone has a bad day. El Cap played great and we played bad. It was bad timing.”
The Gauchos had the Falcons full attention on Tuesday, as Atwater raced out to a 21-3 lead and routed the Gauchos 76-31 to take sole possession of first place in the Central California Conference with just three games left in the regular season.
Senior Lexi Valencia was one of the Falcons players who took the loss to El Capitan to heart. She was held scoreless in the first matchup.
Valencia drained three 3-pointers in the first 2 minutes and 52 seconds in the rematch and finished with a game-high 19 points.
“That was me just going for it,” Valencia said. “JR is always telling me confidence is my biggest issue. Tonight I just let it out.”
Valencia was one of four Atwater players to finish in double-figure scoring. She was joined by Amani Claiborne (16 points), Teressa Thun (11) and Marisa Martinez (10).
There was an intense atmosphere with both teams feeding off the large crowd at Atwater Arena. The El Cap fans were dressed in all black.
The Falcons (19-6 overall, 8-1 CCC) blitzed the Gauchos with their press. El Capitan struggled just getting the ball across half court without turning the ball over.
“JR hyped us up in the locker room before the game,” Valencia said. “This crowd was huge. Everyone here contributed toward this win. Our student section was amazing.”
The win was a big step in the Falcons ending a 31-year title drought. Atwater’s last girls basketball league championship came in 1988. The school honored that 1988 team last week during a game against Central Valley.
Valencia and her teammates know how close they are to winning that elusive championship.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “We were all crying on the bench. We’re already crying and it’s not even senior night yet.”
CCC Wrestling Championships at Merced
Merced High will be hosting the CCC Wrestling Championships on Thursday.
El Capitan will be trying to close out its first conference championship after going 6-0 in the conference dual matches. The top four individuals in each division will advance to next week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championships, which will be held at Atwater High on Friday and Saturday.
The wrestling at the CCC tournament will get underway at 10 a.m.
Hilmar lands three players on all-state team
Cal-HiSports released its all-state small school team recently and the list included three Hilmar High players.
Senior linebacker Justin Rentfro was selected to the first team after leading the Yellowjackets with 131 tackles.
Teammates Bryan Millan (kicker) and Isaac Sharp (multi-purpose) were named to the second team. Millan made five field goals this year with a long of 44 yards. Sharp rushed for 1,687 yards and scored a total of 32 touchdowns.