Brittany Massa’s dirty work rallies Atwater girls past Buhach Colony

The Atwater girls basketball team was in need of some leadership and some toughness.

The Falcons were out-worked in every capacity by crosstown rival Buhach Colony during the opening half Thursday night and the team’s playoff hopes were barely registering a pulse.

Brittany Massa answered the call, turning the game around with some dirty work on the offensive glass. The senior forward seemed to mop up every miss in the third quarter, hauling in six offensive boards and scoring eight of her 12 points on putbacks. Massa’s work inspired her teammates, as they erased a seven-point halftime deficit and kept the Falcons’ playoff hopes alive with a 55-53 victory at the Thunderdome.

Atwater (16-5) closed the first round of league play with back-to-back victories and sits in the third and final Central California Conference playoff spot at 3-2, one game ahead of Merced. The Thunder, despite another very competitive showing, fell to 0-5 in the CCC and 9-12 overall.

“We had a bad practice yesterday and that obviously carried over into the first half,” Falcons coach J.R. Davis said. “I don’t know if we thought coming off of the big Merced win that Buhach was just going to roll over or what, but we were lackadaisical in practice on Wednesday and we played in the first half like we were in a fog.

“The second half that seemed to lift and we got back to grinding out the game like we like to do. This was a game we had to win. The league is crazy this year, and the next five games aren’t going to be easy. You have to get every win you can.”

It was another harsh finish for the Thunder after turning in an inspired opening half.

Remi Mosses carried the load early, striking for seven of her 12 points in the first quarter. Kaelee Lynch took over the hot hand in the second quarter, scoring nine of her team-high 16 points as BC took a 30-23 lead into the break. The lead could have been bigger, but the Thunder missed seven free throws in the second quarter. Those lost points would prove big.

“We obviously wanted to come out strong like we did,” said Lynch, who also had six steals and eight rebounds. “I felt like we were very patient in the first half. That was one of the goals coming in, to work the ball around and make sure we got a good look.

“I think that’s something we got away from in the second half. We came out a little anxious and put up some early shots that missed. All of a sudden they knock down a couple and the momentum switched. We couldn’t get it back, which is disappointing because fading in the third and fourth quarters is what’s hurt us.”

After big first halves, Lynch and Mosses combined for just one made bucket from the field in the second half. That, coupled with Atwater’s numerous second chances, got the Falcons right back into the game.

Atwater pulled down 15 offensive rebounds after the break. Massa, who finished with 18 boards, led the way, and Alondra Ponce had 16 points and 13 rebounds. A Massa putback with just under 1:30 to play in the third quarter tied the game and Jasmine Xiong followed with a three-point play to put the Falcons up 39-36 at the end of three.

Atwater would never trail again.

“We’re the kind of team where once someone gets on a roll, everybody else gets fired up,” Ponce said. “Brittany got us going and everybody else kind of stepped up their game. I think we let the fact that it was a rivalry game get in our heads in the first half. The second half, there was a lot more focus.”

Vanessa Lopez kept Buhach Colony in it until the end, scoring eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter. She drilled a three with two seconds left to make it a one-score game, but the Thunder ran out of time.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 11:04 PM with the headline "Brittany Massa’s dirty work rallies Atwater girls past Buhach Colony."