IN SPORTS:
Lodi will face West Valley tonight in semifinals of Flames Varsity Winter Tournament
LODI WINS TOURNAMENT OPENER
Lodi High’s girls basketball team opened its home tournament, the Flames Winter Tournament, with a 55-25 victory over El Capitan out of Merced on Thursday.
The Gauchos came out in a full-court press at The Inferno and stayed in it through most of the game, but the Flames paid little mind, moving the ball quickly down the court.
“We’ve been working on our press break. As long as we’re patient and take care of the ball, we’ll be fine,” Lodi coach Brandon Shea said. “It’s when we don’t be patient, we rush. Against McClatchy, they pressed us, and we were still able to break the pressure. We just got to be patient and take care of the ball and do the fundamentals — the ball fakes, the jump stops, that kind of stuff.”
Junior forward Ellie Van Tassel led the offensive charge in the first half, scoring 10 of her 14 points before halftime for Lodi (3-2). None of the other Flames were able to get much going, but neither could El Capitan, which had nobody score more than once in the first half.
“They were playing off, or they would let me drive on my right side, which is my strong hand, so I get to the basket quickly,” Van Tassel said. “They weren’t helping, really.”
After the break, the Lodi offense opened up, and sophomore guard Aiyana Evans, who had no points in the first half, finished with 10 points. Marissa Fabian finished with 11 points, five steals and four assists for the Flames, followed by nine points from Zoe Faulkner, five from Calista Morita and two each from Isabella Fugazi and Malina Nino.
“We’ve still got along way to go. The offense needs a lot of work. We’re still not waiting for screens,” Shea said. “It’s a brand new offense, so it will take time, but it’s coming along. We’re seeing glimpses of it here and there.”
Defensively, Lodi’s swarming open-floor defense flustered El Capitan’s shooters, but under the basket, the Gauchos were afforded plenty of second chances. Van Tassel finished with three blocks and seven rebounds, and Fugazi grabbed another seven boards. Morita and Fabian had five rebounds each.
With the game well in hand in the second half,
Lodi’s shooters relaxed and fell into a bit of a groove.
“The second half was a big turning point for us,” Shea said. “I think the second half’s the best we’ve played all year long, as far as playing as a team, looking for each other, so we just go from there.”
Daisy Arroyo led El Capitan with nine points, followed by six from Chiara Boscolo. Liliana Hernandez and Juliana Natividad had four points each.
“We’re not that good at blocking out, but we’re getting better. They get their offensive rebounds, so we have to work on that,” Van Tassel said. “... We think we’ll make it farther than we did last year, we just have to work on a lot of stuff, like our defense and waiting for screens, and not forcing up shots.”
Moving into the winner’s bracket, Lodi plays West Valley, also at The Inferno, today at 8 p.m.