Thunder back in the CCC title race

The Buhach Colony girls basketball team just won’t fade away.

The Thunder, who have won two of the last three Central California Conference championships, have once again fought their way back into contention after an 0-2 start.

There’s no ignoring Buhach Colony now after a 50-46 win over Merced at Clemons Court on Tuesday night that pulled the Thunder even with the Bears for second place in the CCC, two back of Golden Valley.

“We dug ourselves in a hole early with that overtime loss to Merced and really getting beat down against Golden Valley to start league,” said Buhach Colony coach Shane Gentry, whose team improved to 12-9 overall and 4-2 in the CCC. “For us to come back says a lot about the desire of these girls and how much they want to win a title. We’re at least in the talk again.”

The Thunder attacked the Bears in the paint, dumping the ball into fourth-year starter Barbara Coward as much as possible. Coward finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

“They couldn’t stop me tonight,” Coward said. “They didn’t have a man on the court that could stop me so I had to put in work. This game was so big for us. We wanted to keep the momentum for the Atwater win and we knew if we didn’t win this game we’d be out of any chance for the title.”

The Thunder dominated the first half, jumping out to an 8-0 lead to start the game. Buhach Colony built the lead as high as 15 points three times during the second quarter. All 16 of the Thunder’s points in the second quarter came in the paint, either on layups, Coward in the post or second-chance opportunities.

“We have a tendency to play catch-up,” said Merced’s Sami Dinkins, who scored 10 points. “When we realize we’re down we give it our all when we should be doing that from the jump.”

The Bears (11-9, 4-2) made their run in the second half as they played with a sense of urgency.

Dinkins, Alexis Pierce and Brittany McCreary combined for all 16 of Merced’s third-quarter points as the Bears pulled within 40-36 by the end of the third quarter.

The Thunder stretched the lead back to 7 points with three minutes left, but again the Bears charged back. Symone Gilliam (13 points) drove to the bucket and Lexi Thompson (12) made four free throws to cut the lead to 47-46 with 32 seconds left.

Kaelee Lynch (12) was able to ice the game, making three of four free throws in the final 15 seconds.

“We came out strong and then we got a little shaky in the second half,” Coward said. “I didn’t think we would ever give it up, but it did get a little shaky there.”

Golden Valley 54, Pitman 20 in Merced – Stephanie Moore scored 17 points as the Cougars (18-3, 6-0 CCC) moved two games ahead of Buhach Colony and Merced in the standings with four games left. Naomi Peterson and Camille Flores added eight points.

Atwater 55, Turlock 38 in Atwater – The Falcons stopped a three-game skid as Heaven Mazon scored 13 points.

Dos Palos 54, Firebaugh 36 in Firebaugh – Kayla Hall scored 19 points as the Broncos picked up a road win.

Boys

Le Grand 55, Gustine 38 in Le Grand – The Bulldogs scored the Redskins from long range with 11 three-pointers. Frankie Cronteras made three treys and finished with 17 points.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Thunder back in the CCC title race."