Time on Flames’ side in TCAL-opening victory
Lodi High girls basketball players Brooke Aberle, Marissa Fabian and Ellie Van Tassel had a lot of patience on the floor Thursday night.
Selecting when to take their shots at the right time paid off against Tracy in the Tri-City Athletic League opener at The Inferno. Throw in the Flames’ timely defense in the final five minutes of the game, and it added up to a 67-62 win over the Bulldogs.
The game was tied at 49-49 at the start of the final quarter. After Lodi (10 in the TCAL, 9-8) and Tracy (0-1, 7-10) traded baskets, Aberle, a junior forward who had been taking a combination of inside and outside shots in the game, gave the Flames the lead for good on a put back bucket for a 51-49 score.
Then Fabian, a junior guard who started as a sophomore last winter, stole the ball from Tracy guard Alyissa Escobar at mid-court and raced down to the other end of the court for a basket. As Fabian (20 points) flew to the basket, she was fouled. Then she sank 1-of-2 free throws that bumped the Flames’ lead to 54-51 with 5:41 left in the game.
Van Tassel, a junior forward, scored eight of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. That included two baskets from the field and four free throws. Her and Aberle (14 points) took turns scoring in the final minutes of the game to seal the victory.
“My coaches have been telling me to
go up with the ball stronger since the beginning of the season instead of fading away,” said Van Tassel of her shooting. “My outside shots weren’t falling, so I started to drive and take it to the rim stronger.”
Lodi coach Brandon Shea added, “She played well, especially with the second chance points.”
The big points on the Bulldogs’ side in the final minutes were a 3-pointer and bank shot from Escobar, who finished with 33 points that included six treys.
Shea was happy with the Flames’ offense that relied on players moving the ball inside the paint, being patient on taking their shots and shooting from the outside when needed in the game, and most notable in the final eight minutes of the game. That paid off for Lodi, which made three 3-pointers.
“Our ball movement and defense were OK,” Van Tassel said. “We can do better and we’re still working on it. We’ve gotten better at our ball movement and passing more on our offense instead of taking one or two passes and then throwing up a shot. We still do it from time to time, but not as often.”
Defense down the stretch in the fourth quarter also helped the Flames to winning their league opener.
“We had some good defensive possessions,” Shea said.
Van Tassel added, “Our defense has also gotten a lot better. We’re better at help side defense and pressuring the ball (than) we were at the beginning of the season.”
Lodi led 38-31 at the start of the third quarter. The Flames started with a 6-0 run for a 4431 advantage, thanks to more put back bucket from junior center Veronica Aljandrez and Aberle.
In the second quarter, Lodi took advantage of missed Tracy shots to establish a 36-29 lead. The Bulldogs entered the quarter with an 18-14 advantage. Another plus for the Flames was the limited play of Tracy guard Izzie Valdez, who finished with 19 points but fouled three times in the first half and scored only four points.
“Once Valdez got into foul trouble, we just locked and load on the other girl (Escobar),” Shea said. “Lucky for us, she (Valdez) was off in the first half.”
Behind Van Tassel, Fabian and Aberle in scoring were Malina Nino and Veronica Alejandrez with four points each, and forward Zoe Faulkner with three for the Flames.
Lodi plays at Del Oro of Loomis in a non-league game on Saturday. The Flames return to TCAL action at Lincoln next Tuesday.