Roundup: El Capitan star plays big role in win over old school. Atwater wins big
Caly Curran came up big in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her game-high 16 points to break up a tie game as the El Capitan High girls basketball team defeated Buhach Colony 36-26 on Tuesday night in the Thunder Dome.
It was Curran’s return to Buhach Colony, where she attended to school her first three years of high school before transferring to El Capitan.
“It was difficult for me because I spent three years here,” Curran said. “It was exciting for me too. I saw how much my girls wanted to win and that made me want to win even more. We push each other.”
It was a defensive struggle all night and the game stayed close throughout.
“I knew this was going to be a tough one because Buhach Colony plays hard all the time,” said El Capitan coach Tyler Rogers, whose team improved to 10-7 overall and 2-0 in the Central California Conference.
Rogers called it a team win with contributions up and down his lineup, especially on the defensive end from players like Kiyoko Bush and Daniela Belmonte, who were diving on the floor and chasing down rebounds.
Cassandra Gutierrez led Buhach Colony (9-6, 0-2 CCC) with 11 points.
Harmonie Farr hit two first-quarter 3-pointers to account for six of the Gauchos’ nine points in the first quarter.
It was anybody’s game until Curran got hot in the fourth quarter to fuel a 10-0 run.
“I would say when her mind is right and she wants to score, it’s tough to stop her,” Rogers said. “I don’t think there are too many players who can guard her.”
Atwater 75, Central Valley 9 in Atwater — LaShae Smith scored 20 points as the Falcons won their CCC opener. Amoni Claiborne added 10 points and Aliene Lopez scored nine for Atwater (10-7).
Patterson 39, Golden Valley 23 in Merced — The Tigers improved to 2-0 in the CCC with the win over the Cougars. Malaysia Lucero led Golden Valley (10-8, 0-2 CCC) with 11 points.
Merced 68, Pitman 51 in Turlock — Khya Martin scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Bears (11-3) to a nonconference win over the Pride. Amari Stamps (13), Kaitlynn Perez (12) and Sierra Smith (10) rounded out the Bears’ scoring leaders.
Merced travels to El Capitan for a key CCC matchup on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
Central Valley 4, Merced 0 in Ceres — The Hawks received goals from Alexys Jimenez, Rigoberto Trujillo, Sebastian Castillo and Leogiovanni Ayala. Central Valley improved to 3-0 in the CCC.
Patterson 5, Atwater 1 in Atwater — Johan Mendoza scored two goals for the Tigers. Alfonso Torres scored the Falcons’ lone goal on an assist from Aziel Gutierrez.
The Falcons dropped to 1-2 in the CCC.
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 10:26 PM.
