Roundup: Merced, Atwater, Golden Valley all get big road wins in CCC basketball action.
The Merced High girls basketball team cleared a big hurdle in their path that they hope leads to a Central California Conference championship on Thursday night.
The Bears (13-3, 2-0 CCC) grinded out a 48-38 win over El Capitan, handing the Gauchos their first conference loss of the season.
Merced got contributions up and down the roster with three players finishing in double-figure scoring and senior Kaitlynn Perez pulling down 20 rebounds to go along with her six points.
“I put everything into this game,” Perez said. “Everyone put the same amount of effort into it.”
Anaya Seals helped seal the game for Merced, scoring nine of her team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter. Sierra Smith and Amari Stamps added 11 points.
“After the two losses to them last year this was huge,” said Merced coach Art Solis. “We needed this one.”
Daniela Belmonte led El Capitan (10-8, 2-1 CCC) with 12 points. Caly Curran added eight points.
The Gauchos trailed by double-figures early in the fourth quarter, but closed to six points.
Merced, which has 10 seniors on the lineup, didn’t help its own cause with turnovers and opting for quick shots instead of running the clock late in the game.
“That’s what we were trying to do (run some clock), but with the intensity of the game and everyone’s heart pumping so fast,” Solis said. “It was so loud in there, I know nobody could hear me. I lost my voice. I’m just glad we were able to finish it off.”
Both teams will be back in action on Monday. Merced will host Buhach Colony and El Capitan will travel to Atwater.
Atwater 70, Patterson 52 in Patterson — The Falcons turned in a strong performance on the road in handing the Tigers their first CCC loss.
Samantha Trejo led Atwater (11-7, 2-0 CCC) with 18 points points. Teressa Thun added 12, LaShae Smith 10 and Aliene Lopez scored 10 for the Falcons.
Golden Valley 50, Central Valley 21 in Ceres — Malaysia Lucero led the Cougars (11-8, 1-2 CCC) with 16 points and Danielle Navarro scored 12.
Girls Soccer
Merced 2, Patterson 1 in Merced — Kiah McKain and Vanessa Perez scored goals to lift the Bears past the Tigers. Merced improved to 2-1-1 in the CCC with the victory.
Boys Soccer
El Capitan 2, Buhach Colony 1 in Merced — Diego Hernandez and Gustavo Gonzalez both found the back of the net to propel the Gauchos past the Thunder. Omar Delgado assisted on both goals. El Capitan improves to 1-2-1 in the CCC with the win.
