Merced races past El Capitan in girls basketball

If given the opportunity, the Merced girls basketball team is ready to run this year.

With a large stable of guards, the Bears are looking to push the tempo, and El Capitan couldn’t keep up on Thursday afternoon. Merced raced past the Gauchos 55-12 in the opening round of the 20th annual Lady Cougar Classic at Cougar Arena.

“We have a lot of girls who can play multiple positions, and it was good to see them use those different skills,” said Bears coach Rob Pierce. “We had girls filling lanes. I think I was most impressed with our passing. We moved the ball around and played unselfish basketball.”

According to third-year guard Lexi Thompson, who paced Merced with 17 points, it doesn’t matter who scores. It’s a lesson they learned quickly after opening the season with a 43-42 loss to Madera on Tuesday.

“It’s all about unselfish play,” Thompson said. “That’s the only way we’re going to win. It’s not about who scores or who has the most points. It’s about, are we winning?”

The Bears (1-1) will have to win in different ways this season after the graduation of four-year center Dalonna Jones. No longer can Merced count on the 6-foot Jones grabbing 10 or 12 rebounds.

“All five of us have to get in there,” Thompson said. “We’ve talked about that a lot. We can’t rely on one person to get the ball and throw the outlet pass. We’ve all got to get in there to rebound.”

The battle on the glass wasn’t much of a factor against El Capitan. The Gauchos (0-2) struggled against Merced’s defensive pressure. The resulting turnovers allowed the Bears to get out in transition and score easy baskets.

Merced outscored El Capitan 13-1 in the first quarter and then opened a 30-1 lead with 3:22 left in the first half.

When the Gauchos were able to get back into their 2-3 zone, Merced drilled nine three-pointers.

“We have a lot of good outside shooters this year,” said Thompson, who made three three-pointers. “It’s definitely something we’ve worked on. We could have gone inside today. There was no reason to shoot outside as much as we did, but I guess it’s good practice.”

Symone Gilliam had 14 points, including two three-pointers, as nine different Merced players scored.

The Bears will face Buhach Colony (2-0) in the semifinals on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Buhach Colony 62, Central Valley 35 in Merced – The Thunder pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Hawks (0-3) 37-12.

After a poor shooting night against El Capitan on Tuesday, Buhach Colony knocked down six three-pointers. Kaylee Lynch accounted for four long-distance shots and finished with a game-high 17 points.

Brandy Coward had 15 points, six rebounds and six steals for the Thunder.

Lindsey Alexander scored all seven of her points in the first quarter as Central Valley took a 15-9 lead into the second quarter.

Buhach Colony took a two-point lead into halftime and started the third quarter with a 14-2 run to take a 39-25 lead on a Lynch three-pointer with 4:28 left in the quarter.

Golden Valley 59, Franklin 10 in Merced – Camille Flores scored 22 points as the Cougars (2-0) routed the Yellowjackets.

Flores scored 17 points in the first half as Golden Valley jumped out to a 41-6 lead by halftime. The Cougars senior made four three-pointers.

Naomi Peterson had 10 points and Delia Moore eight as nine of the 10 Cougars who played scored.

Golden Valley will face Madera in the other semifinal on Friday night at 8. Madera defeated Beyer 56-29.

Boys

Merced 57, Modesto 49 in Modesto – Brandon Blackwell scored 17 points as the Bears picked up their first win of the season in the Modesto City Classic.

A.J. Stewart added 10 points for Merced (1-1), which plays Beyer tonight at Modesto High.

Enochs 88, Buhach Colony 45 in Modesto – Kory Woods led the Thunder (0-3) in the loss with 17 points. Ricky Delgado added 11 points. Buhach Colony faces Grace Davis at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at Johansen High.

Ripon 73, Le Grand 44 in Modesto – Victor Martinez led the Bulldogs with 11 points in the opening round of the Big Valley Christian Tournament. Beto Marquez added 10 points for Le Grand.

This story was originally published December 4, 2014 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Merced races past El Capitan in girls basketball."