NEWMAN, Calif – Orestimba High girls basketball head coach Dwain Bell strongly felt his team could play better 24 hours after losing a winner’s bracket game of the Valerie Lugo Invitational.
That was bad news for the Chowchilla girls’ squad.
Orestimba played Chowchilla for third place in the invitational that was played at Los Banos High on Saturday. The Warriors came away with a 38-18 win over the Redskins.
“I knew we would come back and play a better game (than Friday against Patterson),” said Bell, whose Warriors improve to 5-1 this season. “Very dominant defensive performance in the first quarter. Earning third place in the tournament is a great start to our season.”
Here is a breakdown of the Warriors’ games.
Orestimba 38, Chowchilla 18
The Warriors jumped out to a 15-1 lead in the first quarter of Saturday’s third-place game against Chowchilla, and never looked back.
Orestimba held a comfortable 20-9 lead at halftime.
Warrior forward Olivia Gray led in scoring with 14 points. Guard Laylahni Garcia followed with eight points, guard Shantelle Pizarro five, Lilly Rocha four, Mallory Solano two and Ashlynn Bell one.
Patterson 41, Orestimba 28
In the winner’s bracket game played on Friday, Patterson scored 11 points each in the first and second quarters while the Warriors scored six and nine points respectively. That led to the Tigers holding onto a 22-15 lead.
Patterson continued its scoring in the third quarter with a 13-6 difference for a 35-21 lead.
“This loss will be a great learning experience for the team,” Bell said. “Patterson was a very physical and confident team, and they were the better team today.”
Gray was the top scorer for the Warriors with 9 points. Bell and Rocha followed with 7 points each.
Orestimba 50, Dos Palos 28
On the first day of the invitation, on Dec. 4, Orestimba had a strong second quarter by outscoring the Broncos 13-2 for a 25-9 halftime lead.
“Dos Palos was a good test for us,” Bell said. “They wanted to get the ball to the middle, so we were able to take that away with steals.
Pizarro had five steals in the game, while teammate Natalie Corella had four.
In addition, Ashlynn Bell had four blocks and four steals.
Gray had 17 points for the Warriors. Ashlynn Bell followed with 15 points and Pizarro five.
Orestimba 71, Enochs 69 in OT
In a non-league game in Modesto on Dec. 3, the game was knotted at 65-all entering overtime.
The Warriors edged Enochs by a 6-4 margin in OT for the win.
The game had a different look at halftime, as Enochs held a 34-9 lead.
“I never worried that we couldn’t come back,” Bell said. “I knew our pace can dictate how a game goes even being down by so much. Enochs gave us a fight and I’m proud how the girls pushed through and ultimately got the W.”
Four Orestimba players scored in double digits in fast-paced game. Gray led the way with 31 points, Rocha 15 and Ashlynn Bell and Pizarro 10 each. Solano had three and Kyleigh Brace two.
Another invitational on tap
Orestimba continues its preseason schedule this week, this time traveling to Galt. That is where the Warriors will be playing at the Messersmith Classic Invitational at Liberty Ranch High.
The Warriors open action of the four-day invitational on Wednesday, playing host Liberty Ranch at 7 p.m.
The Orestimba-Liberty Ranch winner will play the Fortune Early College-Valley Christian game in the winner’s bracket on Friday at 8 p.m. The losers of both games would also play on Friday but in the loser’s bracket at 5 p.m.
The other bracket has Bear River playing Ripon on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and West Campus of Sacramento facing Riverbank at 7. The winners of these games would play Friday at 6:30 p.m. while the losers face each other the same day at 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the championship of the invitational will take place Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The third-place contest is scheduled at 2, consolation title game at 12:30 p.m. and the seventh-place contest at 11 a.m.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushphotography.
