Atwater’s dominant rebounding keys win over Merced in girls basketball

The Atwater High School girls basketball team attacked the glass Tuesday night, racking up 26 offensive rebounds against Merced.

The Falcons’ rebounding led to second and third opportunities they cashed in on their way to a 57-47 win over the Bears on Vince Clemons Court.

“It would have been nice if they would have made it the first time,” joked Atwater coach J.R. Davis. “I guess they were trying to boost their stats and give me a heart attack.”

The Falcons (15-5, 2-2 Central California Conference) were quicker to the ball. Players such as Brittany Massa, Alondra Ponce and Heaven Mazon grabbed the rebounds and either went up with a putback or found an open teammate for a shot.

“Our rebounding was nonexistent,” said Merced coach Rob Pierce, whose Bears (14-7, 2-2) have lost three in a row. “It’s something we work on quite often in practice, although it doesn’t show up in the game. (Atwater) just wanted the ball more than we did. Quite often, we just weren’t ready to rebound.”

Despite their shortcomings on the glass, Merced still had a chance.

Seniors Lexi Thompson and Symone Gilliam each scored 19 points.

Thompson hit back-to-back three-pointers to help the Bears close a nine-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. Raelynn Blackwell followed Thompson’s threes with back-to-back layups to give Merced a 43-42 lead with 5:50 left.

The Falcons didn’t flinch.

Massa grabbed an offensive rebound and found an open Kelsey Valencia (eight points) for a basket to regain the lead, then Valencia scored on a putback two minutes later. Her two baskets sparked the 15-4 run on which the Falcons would close the game.

“I think the difference in this team is they play well under pressure,” Davis said. “We’ve had a couple games this preseason where we were down and they came up. They’re tough. This was a good test for us.”

Ponce paced the Falcons with 16 points, including six in the fourth quarter. Ponce thrived from outside along the baseline. She said she grew comfortable at that spot after tearing her ACL as a freshman.

“When I hurt my knee, that would be the shot I practiced,” Ponce said. “While the team was practicing on the floor, I would be on the side courts. That was the spot I could shoot and be out of the way.”

Jasmine Xiong scored 12 points for the Falcons. Mazon had 10 and Massa nine.

The teams now prepare for their rivalry games Thursday.

Atwater will head to Buhach Colony and Merced will try to regroup against Golden Valley, which has won seven consecutive games.

“It all starts on the defensive end,” Pierce said. “Regardless of how many points we score or the shots we make, we still have to defend. That means playing tough defense and then having to rebound.”

Golden Valley 40, Turlock 39 in Turlock – Abbee Croninger led the Cougars (17-4, 4-0 CCC) with 12 points and 17 rebounds as they squeaked out a road victory. Kayla Commons and Stephanie Moore scored 11 points each for Golden Valley. Commons had 11 rebounds.

Wrestling

Buhach Colony 78, Merced 0 in Atwater – The Thunder improved to 3-0 in the CCC behind pins by Luis Carillo (106 pounds), Brandon Mendoza (120), Mohammad Zamani (138), Keelan Buckner (145), Titus Sanchez (145), Ben Moran (160), Victor Cruz (170) and Salvador Sanchez (195).

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 10:55 PM with the headline "Atwater’s dominant rebounding keys win over Merced in girls basketball."