Riverbank moves into tie atop TVL girls basketball standings with road win over Hughson
Going into the biggest game of the season, Riverbank coach Janelle Luu gave her team a message that was passed down from her mentor, Cal Poly Pomona head coach Danelle Bishop.
“She says ‘Win when it matters’ and I think that was the message tonight,” Luu said. “When it matters, can you execute? Can you win? And I think they did. They knew what was at stake and they came out and played.”
Luu’s team responded, beating the Trans-Valley League’s first place team, Hughson High, on the road, 53-41.
With the win, the Bruins (20-3, 8-1) not only made up for their 53-49 league loss Hughson three weeks ago, they moved into a first place tie with the Huskies.
For Luu, the possibility of finishing the season as TVL co-champions has been a long time coming. In her first season as head coach in 2018-19, the team went 1-20 and didn’t win a league game.
“It’s been a long journey to build a place where kids want to come play basketball,” the fifth-year coach said. “To (possibly) be co-league champs with possibly a home playoff game, it’s just a testament to the hard work of my coaches, the kids, everybody.”
The Bruins took a narrow 24-22 lead into halftime, but junior guard Taylor Macias led the charge in a strong second half. She scored 13 of her game high 18 points in the final 16 minutes.
“Our defense,” Macias said, describing how the Bruins stormed ahead. “In the locker room our coach asked, ‘How bad do we really want it?’ And we showed we really wanted it.”
Said Luu: “We started finding Rayne Tago down low and she was finishing and Taylor Macias and they all started putting the ball in the hole. We were able to get into our press, apply some pressure and allow Hughson to make some mistakes.”
Hughson (18-6, 8-1) managed to stay competitive despite playing shorthanded.
Leading scorer Olivia Fiveash missed the game after suffering an injury in last week’s 49-22 win over Hilmar.
They overcame Riverbank’s early run, taking a 22-19 lead in the second quarter after a pair of three pointers by junior Yuliana Rocha.
The Huskies cut the Bruins’ 12-point fourth quarter lead to five but were unable to pull off one final run.
“It’s weird. I’m not used to being kind of okay with a loss, but I am with the way my team played.” Huskies coach Tim May said.
“Hughson is very well coached,” Luu said. “Tim May is a great guy, I’ve known him for years and I have nothing but respect for him and his players. They’re resilient. They didn’t have one of their top guards and that didn’t matter. They gave it their all and I have nothing but respect for Hughson.”
After beating Riverbank in a tournament earlier this season and in their first league match-up, Hughson fell short of sweeping the season series.
“This is the third match-up and it’s hard to beat any team three times, especially a team that talented,” May said. “(Riverbank) is a very talented basketball team.”
Both teams play three TVL games before the season’s end.
Riverbank hosts Ripon Christian and Livingston before its final game on the road against Hilmar. Hughson travels to Ripon and Escalon, ending the league season hosting Ripon Christian.
