Turlock High’s Chloe Wong stepped up and delivered key baskets when the Bulldogs needed them most, helping her team to a 38-33 victory over rival Pitman on Tuesday at Bulldog Arena.
With the victory, the Bulldogs (5-14) improve to 2-1 in the Central California Athletic League action, while Pitman (9-9) falls to 2-1 in conference play.
Wong’s first big bucket of the evening came early in the second quarter when her 3-pointer tied the game at 9-9, after Turlock had trailed 7-1 to start the contest. Later, her steal and lay-in capped a 12-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 13-9 lead.
“I remember John used to tell me, when we were really close, he would say, ‘You’re a leader on this team; you need to drive to the hole and you need make a basket,’” said Wong, referring to John Williams, the Turlock assistant coach who died in an auto accident on Dec. 29. “And so, I think about him. And since it’s Pitman, I think about how much that win means.”
In the third quarter, Wong hit a 3-pointer that extended a six-point Turlock lead to nine points, the biggest of the game for either squad.
But a resilient Pitman squad then reeled off nine unanswered points, capped by a bucket and free throw from Dailynn Greener, to make it 24-24 with 2:18 to play in the third quarter.
Turlock ended the Pride’s run when Cadence Campbell hit a 3-pointer — her only points of the game — to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.
“Pitman is a rivalry game and it’s always super intense, so it’s nice to get that win,” said THS head coach Erica Hernandez. “Our league is good and we have to keep working to place ourselves in a position to hopefully be league champs.”
Through the Bulldogs didn’t relinquish the lead after Campbell’s trifecta, they came close.
Pitman cut the margin to one point — 34-33 — with 1:26 remaining, but Wong (15 points) delivered a three-ball on Turlock’s next possession to make it 37-33 with 40 seconds to play. She added a free-throw in the final seconds for game’s final margin.
And what might Williams have said to Wong after she stepped up with a three-point field goal in such a key moment?
“Usually, what he would do after I make a three, he would come up to me and slap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Smile,’ because I don’t usually smile after I make a 3. I don’t want to get cocky,” said Wong, explaining that Williams encouraged her to enjoy big moments. “When John passed away, it was definitely a bonding experience, like a trauma bond, for us all. And it really brought us all a lot closer to have that special connection and to make basketball that much more meaningful.”
The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes in the second quarter when Pitman senior guard Savannah Beattie suffered what appeared to be a concussion when she banged her head against the hardwood floor battling for a loose ball. Turlock Fire Department personnel responded within minutes and Beattie left the floor on a stretcher. However, she was talking with coaches and emergency personnel as she left the arena.
