Golden Valley girls start fast in win over Atwater

The Golden Valley girls basketball team blitzed Atwater from the start.

It all started with the opening tip, which was passed ahead to a streaking Stephanie Moore for an easy layup. The Cougars scored the first 11 points of the game in less than 2 minutes.

It was the other 30 minutes Golden Valley coach Matt Thissen wasn’t very pleased with, but the Cougars still emerged with a 59-43 win over the Falcons in the Nest to improve to 15-4 and take sole possession of first place in the Central California Conference at 3-0.

“We played solid those first two minutes of the game,” Thissen said. “At that point, though, I felt we relaxed and thought Atwater was just going to lay down for us and let us win. That’s not going to happen against Atwater. I’m happy to get the win, but I feel we didn’t play four solid quarters.”

The Falcons (14-4, 1-2 CCC) fought back despite playing without leading scorer Heaven Mazon, who missed her second consecutive game after having her tonsils removed Tuesday.

Jasmine Xiong and Kelsey Valencia each hit three-pointers in the first quarter to help Atwater close the gap to 21-13 by the end of the quarter.

The Falcons wouldn’t let the Cougars pull away.

Trailing by 10 at halftime, Atwater used a 7-0 run to pull within 43-29 with 4:47 left in the third quarter.

That’s when Moore took over.

The reigning CCC MVP and UC San Diego-bound senior score 19 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to help the Cougars pull away.

Moore scored from all over, hitting three-pointers, mid-range shots in the paint, scoring in transition and even resorting to a left-handed jumper midway through the fourth.

“We’re asking that young lady to do a lot,” Thissen said. “She’s bring the ball up the court, she’s taking shots, setting people up for shots, playing the point in the press and playing defense. When our backs are against the wall, she is there to save us.

“That’s why she is the best player in the league.”

Moore also had 13 rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

She did a lot of damage playing in the middle against Atwater’s zone defense.

“When they put her in the middle, that’s when things got crazy,” Atwater coach J.R. Davis said. “We didn’t practice that and we weren’t able to adjust to it until it was too late.”

And the left-handed jumper that the right-handed Moore hit to give Golden Valley a 55-37 lead with 4:53 left?

“I’ve been working on it,” Moore said. “I’ll use it in warm-ups and see how far I can move out. It just comes from practice and repetition. I just read the defense. An open left-handed jumper is easier than a contested right-handed shot.”

Brittany Massa led Atwater with nine points and Alondra Ponce scored eight.

Abbee Croninger scored all 10 of her points for Golden Valley in the first half. Croninger finished with 13 rebounds. Kat Tern scored nine points for Golden Valley, including going 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Pitman 53, Merced 40 in Merced – Kaylin Randhawa scored 14 points as Pitman (11-5, 2-1 CCC) upset Merced on the road. Lexi Thompson paced the Bears (14-5, 2-1) with 12 points. Kiara Graves added eight points for Merced.

Turlock 64, Buhach Colony 47 in Turlock – Jaydon Williams poured in 22 points to hand the Thunder their third consecutive conference loss. Kaelee Lynch led Buhach Colony with 17 points.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Golden Valley girls start fast in win over Atwater."