Escalon’s varsity Lady Cougars got on a roll toward the end of the season, the basketball team winning seven straight. And though they took down front-running Ripon in the final week on the road, they still fell just a little short of the title. That honor went to the Lady Indians as Ripon went 11-1 for the Trans-Valley League season, Escalon went 10-2.
“We finished second in league with a 10-2 record. We won seven in a row and beat both of our first round losses the second time,” head coach Joseph Dalpogetti said.
Those first round losses were in the league season opener on the road at Sonora and then to Ripon. By avenging both those losses in the second round, Escalon had a chance to tie for the title but needed help from Hilmar in the final game of the season. The Lady Yellowjackets were not able to get past Ripon in that contest, though, so the Lady Indians held on for the title.
“A bit frustrating to not be league champs knowing that at our best we are the best team in the league but such is life,” Dalpogetti said.
Tuesday, Feb. 11 the girls were on the road at Ripon and were able to get the win there.
“We knew they were gong to box and one Ari (Velasco) so we started prepping for it a few practices prior,” the coach explained. “We trailed 6-0 early and I was forced to call a timeout to regroup.”
The Escalon girls then ended up tying the game at 12 on a three-pointer from Madi Babasa to end the first quarter. Down 15-12 early in the second, a three-pointer from Ayana Cocio again got the varsity squad even. After that point, said Dalpogetti, his team never trailed again in the contest.
“We led 23-17 at the half. We were up 10 with about 40 seconds to go in the third and had an incredible close to the quarter,” he explained. “Ari was fouled on a defensive rebound that put us into the bonus.”
Velasco split the free throws and then the Cougars pressed Ripon hard.
“Ari got a steal and a layup and then Madi got a steal and got fouled and made both,” Dalpogetti said. “All of a sudden we led 41-26 heading into the fourth.”
Ripon battled back to open the final frame, getting Escalon to commit some fouls, and it was another timeout for the visiting team.
“We regrouped and pushed the lead to 18 before settling with a decisive 57-41 final,” Dalpogetti said. “Despite being box and oned, Ari still put up 15, Ayana finished with 14 and Madi led all scorers with 16.”
Escalon did beat Ripon two out of three times this season, in a tournament during the preseason and then splitting the TVL games.
Thursday. Feb. 13 Escalon was on the home court and it was Senior Night, with seniors Lilly Brasil and Aiden Hohenwarter honored. Each was escorted on to the court by family members, with teammate Ayana Cocio offering some thoughts on Brasil, Bretta Brooks doing the honors for Hohenwarter.
For Brooks, having the opportunity to play on the varsity with good friend Hohenwarter has been a special part of the season.
“I love the feeling of it, especially being able to play with my best friend before she was able to graduate,” Brooks said. “It was just really good to be able to play with her for a year and I loved every moment of it. I have really learned about working on my defense and working on my shots, too, I’ve also learned with sportsmanship, culture is always what matters because if you don’t have culture, you really don’t have anything.”
Hohenwarter said she had no doubt that she was going to ask Brooks to speak about her at the Senior Night Ceremony.
“I was crying a lot, especially hearing it from one of my best friends, I’ve known her since she was born, I’ve known her my entire life and we’ve always been close,” Hohenwarter shared of Brooks. “I just felt coming into my senior season that it would be awesome to have her up on varsity no matter what and I knew from the first day she was pulled up she was going to speak for me tonight.”
On the court for the game, Escalon hosted Orestimba and though the Lady Warriors came in holding down third place in league, Escalon easily outdistanced them, taking control of the game early.
Up 16-6 after one quarter, Escalon had a 34-9 edge at the half. It was 45-16 after three and the final – with a running clock once the lead hit 40 points in the fourth quarter – was 63-19.
“Madi led us with 16 again and Ari with 15,” Dalpogetti said. “Seniors Lilly and Aiden honored on the night finished with eight each. Jayci Trimble also had eight, all members of the team scored including our freshmen Allie (Fiser) and Bretta (Brooks).”
The JV team fought hard but couldn’t get past Orestimba on Thursday, falling by a 34-15 final.
For the varsity squad, they got the number 10 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs and go on the road for a Tuesday night game, Feb. 18, traveling to Valley Christian of Roseville for the first-round contest with tip off set for 7 p.m.
“They’re a small school but due to continued success they have to play up in D4,” noted Dalpogetti of Valley Christian. “We dropped two spots from the latest projections. We lost a handful of close games to good teams in December and we had three bad losses or else we could have easily been a four to six seed.”
Dalpogetti said the team does have some postseason experience and they will need to pack that for the long road trip.
"It's win or go home time now," the coach said. "We have some playoff experienced players that we will have to lean on if we want to get to the NorCals for the third straight year."
