Lathrop routs defending champ in WAC opener

Lathrop wasn’t out to make a statement against the defending champion Monday in its Western Athletic Conference opener against visiting Pacheco. Coach Dwayne Davis simply wanted to see his young — and undefeated — team continue to build on the best start to a season in program history. On that front, the Spartans came up short of their coach’s expectations. They won, 58-34. Breanna Wiseman led them with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks despite foul trouble, while JaLeiyah Ray knocked down three 3s on the way to scoring 11 points to go with nine boards. Nine different Spartans scored, and they got some key contributions off the bench in the second half to help create separation. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to win league and all that?” Davis said. “In our minds, we believe that we should be on a higher plane. So, when we play like that, that’s our disappointment, because we’ve played some good basketball for basically 14 games. That was one where I don’t care about the score; it’s the way we played.” The way they played was sometimes sloppy on both ends. Lathrop, now 15-0, bothered Pacheco (0-1 WAC, 7-8 overall) with its full-court defense at the outset and raced to an 11-2 lead. Turnovers, most of them unforced, and missed free throws allowed the Panthers from Los Banos to hang around and even take a 13-12 lead into the second quarter thanks to Bianca Trujillo’s buzzer-beating layup. While Lathrop forced 14 turnovers in the first half, it had 13 of its own and finished with 20. From the free-throw line, the Spartans made just eight of 21. Pacheco was unable to capitalize, however. Not helping matters was early foul trouble to its top two scorers for the season. Second-year sophomore center Nikki Nance was held scoreless for three quarters because of the fouls. She wound up scoring all nine of her points in the fourth quarter, adding three rebounds and three blocks. Junior wing Jeanette Ortiz fouled out with just three points, four rebounds and three assists. Sophia Lowery hit two 3s and paced Pacheco with 10 points and four steals. “I think the difference is our players weren’t able play, and theirs were,” Pacheco coach Trent Taylor said. “When your two best players are in foul trouble early, it’s hard to get into a rhythm. But we’re young. We only have three years of varsity experience on our whole team, so we’re learning.” A 9-0 run early in the second quarter gave Lathrop the lead for good, and it was ahead 27-21 at halftime. The Spartans took better care of the ball in the second half, and they tightened up their second-half defense. Providing key minutes off the bench were senior power forward Belinda Renteria (five rebounds), junior center Araya Carson (six rebounds, block) and freshman Zakia Booker — they each scored six points, and 17 of their combined 18 came in the second half. “There comes a moment in the game where your number gets called, and if you answer the call, I’ll roll with you,” Davis said. “Those kids answered.” Freshman point guard Jaylah Seabron also had six points, while adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lathrop returns to action tonight at Grace Davis. Junior varsity Lathrop 57, Pacheco 13 Zoha Ali amassed 26 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, as the Spartans cruised to the lopsided win. Hazel Beltran registered nine points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.