Girls shoot for title of Pierce Tournament

For the second weekend in a row, the Pierce High gymnasium echoed the sounds of bouncing basketballs and enthusiastic fans as eight teams scuffled in the 26th Annual Pierce Womens Basketball Tournament.

The teams from Colusa, Pierce, Williams and Maxwell fought it out, along with those from Winters, Sutter, Esparto and Live Oak. The Lady Redskins made it all the way to the title game, before being upended by tourney champion Sutter.

Colusa 62, Esparto 21

The Colusa defense did not waiver in Thursday's opening-round match-up with esparto, as the Spartans' eight first-quarter point was the most it could mange, as Colusa pulled away for the easy win.

Meghan Foster knocked down 18 points, including four from behind the arc, sophomore Katie Mobley towered for 14 points, and Caroline Meyers earned a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Colusa 45, Live Oak 39

Meyers (21) and Foster (16) combined for 37 points Friday, and Mobley and Kayla Cunha scored four apiece to propel the Lady Redskins into the championship game.

Sutter 38, Colusa 34

Colusa gave Sutter a run for its money in the championship game Saturday, but the Huskies used 20 points from Courtney Gravel and 17 from Courtney Clingan to send Colusa home with the 2nd-place hardware.

Colusa statistics were not available before press time.

The 5-3 Redskins are playing in the weekend's Hamilton Tournament.

Winters 43, Maxwell 19

The Panthers from Maxwell High apparently their offense on the bus Thursday, and by the time they retrieved it they were down 30-1 at halftime.

Kendall Vierra and Laramie Vargas tied for the team-lead with six point apiece. Vargas also hauled down 14 rebounds

Tess Hyer paced Winters with 12 points.

Maxwell 59, Williams 34

The Panthers came ready to play Saturday, opening up a 29-17 lead at the break.

Ashley Pfyl dropped 16 for Maxwell, which also benefited from 12 each by Vierra and Vargas, with Vargas almost needing to don a painter's cap as she battled for position and the majority of her points from the paint.

Abby Cranford, well conditioned from a long cross-country season, used her fresh legs to move aggressively to the hole for Williams, finishing a game-high 19 points. Anna Ramirez added seven for the Yellowjackets.

Maxwell 41, Esparto 32

The Panthers secured a 5th-place finish Saturday behind 20 points from Vierra and eight more from Vargas, who also ruled for 13 boards. Maxwell also had a myriad of opportunities to rest their legs offensively, shooting 33 free throws in the contest.

Maxwell (4-2) is on the court this weekend in the East Nicolaus Tournament.

Sutter 43, Williams 38

This was the game that could have rocked the whole tournament. The Yellowjackets took a 36-32 lead into the final 8:00 Thursday, but Sutter came back with an 11-2 fourth-quarter to escape with the first-round win.

Cranford was not only in the zone, but deserved her own zip code with a 30-point performance that featured 13-of-26 shooting from the field for 54 percent.

Sutter prevailed with 14 from Courtney Gravel and 10 from Courtney Clingan.

Williams 39, Pierce 34

The Yellowjackets earned a 7th-place finish with a Saturday win over the Bears.

Cranford once again led Williams with 21 points, while Cynthia Pineda reached double figures in scoring with 10.

Williams (1-7) played at Princeton Tuesday.

Esparto 32, Pierce 23

This was a tough tournament for the Pierce High girls for any number of reasons, but the Saturday contest with Esparto made things even worse.

With Elise Nunez going down with a knee injury in the first quarter, Sara Nunez scored all of Pierce's points in the first half, as the two teams went into the locker room with Esparto up 11-8. Nunez was undergoing further tests Monday to determine the extent of her injury. If that was not bad enough, Nina Granados was also moving gingerly the second half and doing back-stretching exercises on the sideline, forcing Pierce to go with the only five healthy players they had in uniform, until Granados was ready to get back on the court.

Alison Ornbaun did a nice job in the second half, coming off the bench for five points. Sara Nunez finished with 13.

Pierce (2-4) hosted Esparto Tuesday.

Order of Finish

Champions: Sutter

Runners-up: Colusa

3rd: Live Oak

4th: Winters

5th: Maxwell

6th: Esparto

7th: Williams

8th Pierce