Merced defeats Atwater to set stage for showdown against Golden Valley

With a big matchup against Golden Valley looming Thursday, the Merced High School girls basketball team could have easily been caught looking past Atwater.

However, Bears coach Rob Pierce made sure that wasn’t going to happen. Pierce has too much respect for the Falcons.

“Our coach had us ready to face a tough team,” said Merced guard Symone Gilliam. “He’s always telling us one possession at a time, one game at a time. We knew Atwater would be a good opponent.”

The Bears’ defense showed up, forcing Atwater into 35 turnovers as Merced pulled away in the second half for a 65-44 win to set the stage for a Central California Conference showdown Thursday at Clemons Court against Golden Valley.

Both teams are 4-0 in the CCC. Merced defeated Golden Valley 51-47 on Dec. 6 during the Lady Cougar Classic.

Lexi Thompson led the way for the Bears (11-7, 4-0) against the Falcons with 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Six of her points came during a 13-2 run to start the second half, helping Merced extend its lead to 18 with 4:58 left in the third quarter.

The Bears hurt Atwater from long range with nine three-pointers, including four from Thompson and three from Brittany McCreary off the bench.

Merced became the second team this season to score more than 60 points against Atwater (14-6, 2-2).

For McCreary, there’s extra motivation when she plays Atwater.

“The adrenaline is running when I get into the game, especially with me going to school at Atwater for two years,” said McCreary, who scored 11 points. “I want to show them what they’re missing.”

The bulk of Merced’s offense came in transition from many of those 35 turnovers, which brought the Falcons’ total to 67 turnovers in the last two games.

In the first half, the Falcons tried to beat the Merced press with long passes, but Merced’s quicker players beat the Falcons to the ball.

After each turnover, Merced seemed to turn up the pressure even more.

“That’s what we do, we play defense,” said Gilliam, who scored six points to go along with seven steals and six rebounds. “That’s what wins championships, right? We want to make them a little jittery with the ball. If we can get in the ball-handlers’ heads, everything else falls into place.”

Brittany Massa led Atwater with 13 points and Chynna Peterson and Heaven Mazon each scored 11.

The Falcons will host Buhach Colony on Thursday.

Now, Merced can turn its attention to Golden Valley.

Golden Valley 61, Turlock 16 in Merced – Stephanie Moore scored 17 points as the Cougars (14-3, 4-0 CCC) jumped out to a 39-4 lead at the half.

Buhach Colony 63, Pitman 25 in Atwater – Kaylee Lynch scored 19 points as the Thunder cruised over the Pride to improve to 10-9 overall and 2-2 in the CCC.

This story was originally published January 20, 2015 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Merced defeats Atwater to set stage for showdown against Golden Valley."