FLAMES HEADED TO TOURNEY TITLE GAME
Big plays down the stretch paved the way for the Lodi High girls basketball team against Rio Americano at the Lodi Flames Invitational on Friday.
Clinging onto one-point leads in the fourth quarter, the Flames were ignited into scoring from different parts of the gym floor. That led to Lodi (62) posting a 53-43 win over Rio Americano (5-2) at The Inferno. Today at 2:30 p.m., Lodi plays Bear Creek, which beat Bella Vista of Fair Oaks in the other winner’s bracket game also on Friday, for the invitational title.
Lodi had several one-point leads for half of the final quarter, the last with 3:48 left, leading 37-36. That’s when Flames center Aubrey Andrews hit a put-back to widen the advantage to 39-36.
After both teams traded offensive possessions, Lodi cushioned its lead to 41-36 after Andrews pulled down a rebound, passed the ball to guard Marissa Fabian, who found forward Monica Valenzuela for two of her gamehigh 19 points. That included 10 points in the final quarter for the 5-foot-11 forward, who sank 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the final eight minutes.
“She came out missing early shots in the fourth quarter,” said Lodi coach Brandon Shea of Valenzuela. “Then she started to pick it up. Once her shots starting falling, her confidence started to grow. She just got better from there.”
A Raiders turnover near their own basket led to Fabian going coast-to-coast, which led her to being fouled en route to the basket for two of her six points. She sank the free shot at the charity stripe that gave Lodi a 44-36 lead.
If Valenzuela wasn’t driving toward the basket, she was busy dishing the ball off to Andrews in the post, or a Flames player inside the paint or near the baseline to give them scoring opportunities.
“She was able to find teammates in the passing lanes,” Shea said. “She was really good passing in the high post.”
The Flames concluded the game with a 9-6 run. Four of those points came from junior forward Malina Nino, who had seven points. Andrews had a three-point play in that session; she drove to the basket, banked the shot but was fouled while driving near the basket.
Lodi led 29-25 entering the final quarter before Valenzuela and company went on their scoring frenzy. Both teams didn’t score any baskets until 5:11 left in the third quarter, when Fabian hit her second trey for a 24-15 score.
In the second quarter, the Flames trailed 15-9. That’s when the come-from-behind rally started with guard Aliana Gravenkamp’s shot just behind the arc to make it a 15-12 contest.
After Valenzuela made two of her free throws to trim the Raiders’ lead to 15-14, Lodi took the lead for good on an inside bucket from Valenzuela
for a 16-15 lead. Forward Alexa Brand added her brand of scoring with a 3-pointer that bumped Lodi to a 19-15 lead.
Behind Valenzuela in scoring for the Flames were Andrews with eight points and Nino seven. Fabian had six points was Brand with five, Gravenkamp and freshman guard Aiyana Evans three each and Ellie Van Tassel two.
Rio Americano’s scoring leaders were Kate Jasper with 10 points, which included six of the Raiders’ 18 points in the final quarter. Ellery Schlingmann followed with nine points, and Cali Britton eight.