It is win or no playoffs for the Turlock High varsity girls basketball team.
Tuesday marked the start of the final stretch for the ‘Dogs if they hope to make the postseason and they began with a 43-31 victory over Buhach Colony on the road.
Hope Salsig finished with a game-high 12 points and Jaydon Williams added 10 points. Shea Williams had seven and Morgan Nunes added six. Eight players scored for the Bulldogs in a night where they dominated on the defense.
“I always believe if you hold your opponents to 40 it makes it a whole lot easier to win games and the girls have bought into it and they were committed tonight, played very great defense,” said Turlock head coach Mark Musselman.
Turlock only trailed in the opening seconds after going down 2-0, then they took over and never trailed again.
They went on a 14-4 run to end the first quarter up by eight then lead 25-16 at the half.
“We went up early but could never push further than eight or 10 points, it was a fairly close one and we just couldn’t finish with good looks but we played a great defensive game,” said Musselman.
Turlock led 33-23 after the third and went on to control the remainder of the night.
The ‘Dogs are now tied with Merced for third place at 4-4 in the Central California Conference with two games left in league.
“We spoke before the game and the opportunities we need to take advantage of it, because if you don’t somebody else will,” said Musselman. “They took a step forward, not easy beating a team three times.”
Turlock will take on first place Golden Valley on the road at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
“We have proven we can play with GV, barely losing to them last time,” said Musselman. “The girls have to bring their best to beat them, they will be tough.”
Hilmar girls win over Hughson, 48-33
The second half of the season has been better for the Hilmar High girls varsity basketball team.
Coming off a crushing two-point loss to first place Ripon, Hilmar looked destined for a better showing in their second game against Hughson and it came to pass.
The Yellowjackets forgot all the woes that have plagued their start in league and recovered by topping Hughson, 48-33, on the road Tuesday night.
“We are heading in a better direction, our kids have been working hard to turn our season around and hopefully we get some more wins at the end,” said Hilmar head coach Don Inman.
Hilmar is now 3-5 in Trans-Valley League play with four games remaining, and currently sit in fourth place, two games from Ripon Christian.
“Now we are fourth, we need to make a strong run in the end,” said Inman.
Hilmar got off to a hot start and led 19-16 after the first half.
Hailey Chavez topped all scorers with 13 points and Kristin Bello added 11 points.
Heading into the fourth, Hilmar led 33-21 and never let up at the end, solidifying their defensive play with a great effort down the stretch.
Hilmar’s next game will be at home against Mountain House at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Coyotes fall to Mariposa
Fresh off a win on Friday, the Denair High varsity girls basketball team was riding a high wave, but failed to pull off a possible upset when they traveled to Mariposa to take on the Grizzlies.
The Coyotes found it extremely difficult to contain Mariposa's attack after coming out with a fury in the opening quarter that saw the Grizzlies outscore Denair, 16-7.
Freshman Milea Appling knocked in a game-high 28 points for Mariposa and they pulled out to a 61-46 win over Denair.
Mariposa scored 44 percent of their shots from the field yet Denair forced 20 steals but it wasn't enough as they lost their second of the year over Mariposa to fall to 3-4 in the Southern Athletic League and Mariposa jumped to a 7-1 league record.
Denair's next game will be at home against Delhi at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
