“I knew this tournament would be tough for us. I knew we would be playing some tough teams.”
— Jason McCleery
Patterson girls basketball coach
 Over the top:Patterson’s Brooke Borba puts a shot up over Christian Brothers’ Megan Padilla during the Tigers’ 58-38 loss to the Christian Brothers Falcons on Friday Photo by Elias Funez
As the Patterson High girls basketball team discovered the hard way, its opponents also had no mercy.
Despite a competitive run in all three games, Patterson wound up winless at the three-day tournament, capped by a 55-42 loss to Turlock on Saturday.
“I knew this tournament would be tough for us,” Patterson coach Jason McCleery said. “I knew we would be playing some tough teams.”
From Thursday’s opening-round loss to Kennedy to the final buzzer Saturday, the Tigers met their match in a tournament that featured opponents who played quicker, more aggressive basketball.
The Tigers (5-4) played even in the first and fourth quarters against Christian Brothers on Friday in a 58-38 loss. Cassie Coble (team-high 11 points) and Brooke Borba each drained a 3-pointer, while Shelby Yamamoto scored six points in the first frame.
Patterson remained tied 16-16 after the first quarter, but saw the Falcons post a 10-0 run to start the second quarter.
Christian Brothers relied on strong drives to the basket from Brittany Woodard (16 points) and its fast-break game to establish a double-digit lead.
The Tigers could only muster a bank shot from Michelle Bancroft, a driving layup from Shavon Furrow, and a free throw from Yamamoto in the five-point quarter. Christian Brothers subsequently led 32-21 at halftime.
“The style of play is much more up-tempo and aggressive,” McCleery said. “All the scores were up in the 50s and 60s. That’s what happens in the playoffs. We have to adapt to that. The girls have to play physical and aggressive.”
Christian Brothers secured the game in the second half by outscoring Patterson, 15-6, in the third quarter to post a 47-27 lead.
In the final tournament game, Patterson had no antidote for Turlock’s hot shooting, as the Bulldogs raced to a 23-11 first-quarter lead en route to a 13-point victory.
“This tournament has been a very physical tournament,” Turlock coach Salinda Mabie said. “We were just trying to stay focused and run our offense, which has a lot of screens in it. When Patterson went to a zone, that helped us out. We had good ball movement.”
Yamamoto led Patterson with 12 points and 10 rebounds, exhibiting a wide range of post moves around the basket.
“This game was more of my posting up than my jump shots,” Yamamoto said. “I felt like my shot was there. The opponents are bigger and faster here.”
Just as Patterson matched Turlock the final three quarters, McCleery pinpointed the need for consistency all four quarters.
“I told the girls that we had glimpses of greatness,” he said. “We just have to get that consistency. We can’t collapse like we did today or have stretches where we give up easy layups. We can’t have it where we don’t get shots on offense or turn it over too much.”
Losing three games wasn’t in his game plan, McCleery conceded. He said the silver lining will come if his players learn from the losses and apply those lessons during league and the playoffs.
“Like I told the girls, I was proud of the fact they were able to play with these teams for those quarters,” McCleery said. “The three losses definitely hurt. Hopefully, we can learn from them. If we can, it will have been a worthwhile experience.”
Patterson hosted Mother Lode League opponent Linden at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. No score was available as of press time.
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