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| Tigers on fire, win 6th in a row |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Saturday, 02 February 2008 | |
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“Right now, we need to continue to play hard each game.” — Jason McCleery, PHS girls basketball coach NEWMAN — The Patterson girls basketball team is blazing a path straight to the top of the Western Athletic Conference. The Tigers traveled to Orestimba on Thursday, defeating the Warriors, 43-39. The victory marks Patterson’s sixth-straight win and improves its WAC record to 9-2, as the Tigers remain in first place with only four games left in the regular season.  Michelle Bancroft goes up for a rebound. Photo by Elias Funez The victory also earns Patterson control of its own playoff destiny down the homestretch. “Right now, we need to continue to play hard each game,” Patterson coach Jason McCleery said. “Hopefully, we can keep everybody healthy, because eventually it’s going to come down to facing Livingston and Hilmar.” The Tigers’ victory over the Warriors is their third this season in as many meetings. But the Warriors did not go down without a fight. Orestimba played Patterson tough defensively early on, closing out the first quarter with a 14-13 advantage. The Tigers needed to make the proper adjustments to its game to compete with the scrappy, tenacious Warriors. “We knew that this was going to be a tough game,” McCleery said. “Regardless of what happened in the other two meetings, we needed to come out and play sharp.” Orestimba’s success throughout the contest was attributed to shoddy, lackluster defense by the Tigers. McCleery indicated there is too much at stake for his team to come out of the gates flat defensively. “We turned the ball over tonight more than we should have, and we missed a few of our defensive assignments,” McCleery said. Patterson senior forward Shelby Yamamoto was surprised by the Warriors’ persistence.  PHS senior Shelby Yamamoto pulls up for a jump shot. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator “We were a little nervous tonight,” Yamamoto said. “The game was a lot closer than we were used to against this team.” The Warriors’ first-quarter lead was its last. Sophomore guard Cassie Coble led her team’s offensive outburst, connecting on two 3-pointers. She finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Yamamoto did her damage on the interior. Her Tigers teammates found her open in the paint, where she knocked down a handful of lay-ups and short jumpers. She finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Patterson’s momentum carried into the fourth quarter. Junior forward Lindsey Moeller took the ball strong to the basket, dropping in two of her own while drawing a foul. Moeller’s points upped the Tigers’ lead to 37-28. Orestimba managed to put together one last run, coming within three points of the Tigers’ lead. Warriors guard Sarah Spaulding missed a 3-point shot with 22 seconds remaining in regulation that would have tied the game. Her shot missed long, ricocheting into the waiting hands of Yamamoto. With the rebound, the Warriors’ comeback threat ended as suddenly as it began. McCleery indicated there is work to be done before thinking about playoffs. “We need to make sure that we continue to take care of business,” he said. “We have Central Catholic and Gustine at home, so we need to keep playing hard every game.” Moeller said her team is game for the challenging road ahead. “Everybody wants this really bad,” Moeller said. “We’re all excited and willing to put out our best efforts in order to win the WAC.” (JV) Patterson 27, Orestimba 44 The Patterson girls JV basketball team fell to host Orestimba, 44-27. The Tigers had difficulty matching up with the Warriors’ steady second-half attack. Orestimba thrived in the post, while the Tigers struggled to find their own offensive consistency. Patterson next travels to Livingston to face the Wolves on Monday. To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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