Stallions get needed win against Toros
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Brianna Lorta drives for a layup over the outstretched arms of Torres’ Sabrina Cerrillo.
In their first varsity girls basketball meeting, the Madera South Stallions had too much for the Matilda Torres Toros to handle in a 59-11 victory.
The Stallions held the Toros to two or less points in three of the four quarters for the win Wednesday at Matilda Torres.
“We needed the victory,” Madera South head coach Johnny Sharp said. “We gave away a game against Fresno High. We beat them by 30 the first time and lost by three the last time. We did everything wrong over there. It was nice to get the victory.”
“They came to play,” Torres head coach Jose Villalobos said. “Coach Sharp does a good job with that program. His players are more seasoned and experienced.”
Brianna Lorta led all scorers with 20 points to go with 12 rebounds, five of the offensive boards and three steals. Alannah Ward added 13 points and Mayra Ceballos scored 11. She had 15 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
The Stallions took advantage of Torres lackluster attempts at boxing out. They pulled down 53 rebounds, including 22 on the offensive glass.
Matilda showed signs of nerves early in the game and Villalobos noticed.
“All week long, I knew because it’s the rivalry, it was going to be something different,” he said. “When the game started, I could tell there was a little more than normal. We were too cautious. It seemed like they didn’t want to make a mistake, especially in front of somebody they know. That kind of killed us today. They were deferring. They got away with what we worked on, attacking the basket and getting shots up. We had some open looks, but they were passing away.”
Stat-sheet filler Sabrina Cerrillo led the Toros. She led the team with six points to go with five rebounds, four steals and five blocked shots.
Sharp hopes Wednesdays win will carry over to Friday’s County/Metro Athletic Conference battle with Madera in Joe Flores Gym.
“The Madera game is going to be real big,” he said. “I have two teams — a good team and a bad team. I’m really hoping the good team shows up. It’s going to be a good team. I think we’re real close in talent.”
The Stallions showed their strength by scoring the first 14 points of the game. They put a stranglehold on the Toros’ offense by forcing 16 turnovers while Torres missed its first nine shots. The Stallions forced 30 turnovers, including 14 steals.
Ceballos opened the scoring with a layup. After two minutes without a score, Ward made a layup. Lorta put back her own miss and Jocelyn Prudente made a short jumper for an 8-0 lead.
Another two minutes went by without a score before Lorta made a layup. After another two minutes, Ward scored on a drive and added a layup a minute later.
Carrillo finally got the Toros on the scoreboard with a driving layup and was fouled, but missed the free throw. Ward closed out the first quarter scoring with a layup.
Lorta made a pair of layups to open the second quarter.
Then, the Toros went on a mini-run. Carrillo made a layup. Sheng Lee got a steal and made a layup. Carrillo added a free throw to cut the lead to 20-7.
However, Lorta took control from there. She scored on a pair of layups and put back a miss for a 6-0 run. Ward added two free throws for a 28-7 lead.
Lee sank a pair of free throw for the Toros, but the Stallions closed the first half scoring with an April Rieux 3-pointer and a layup from Ceballos to lead 33-9.
Ceballos controlled the opening minutes of the second half. She scored Madera South’s first six points of the third quarter and pulled down four defensive rebounds. Lorta added an offensive outback and a layup for a 43-9 lead.
Lorta added another free throw with Ceballos getting a free throw and Jasmine Marrero putting back a miss for a 48-9 lead and a 20-0 run.
The Toros finally scored their first point of the second half with about a minute-and-a-half left with a Karina Sandoval free throw. Marrero closed the third quarter scoring with an offensive outback for a 50-10 lead and invoke the 40-point, fourth quarter running clock.
Torres continued the run into the fourth quarter. Ward hit a 3-pointer and Jalissa Kirkpatrick made a layup and a 15-foot jumper for a 9-0 run.
Carrillo made a free throw for Matilda’s only points on the quarter.
Mayrlin Vasquez closed the scoring with a bucket for a 59-11 Stallions’ victory.
