Basketball: Lady Jags win Stagg Tournament, still undefeated

Kimball steamrolled through the Stagg Tourney to start the month -- winning it for the second consecutive year. They took down the hosting Delta Kings in the championship game 55-35. Tied at 11-11 after one quarter, the Jags went off on a 21-4 second quarter run that all but put the game on ice.

Senior forward Marianthe Tsirelas led the Jags to their first piece of silverware of the season by pouring in 24 points against Stagg. It was one of the best individual performances of the season as Tsirelas also chipped in with nine boards, five steals, and two assists.

Freshman point guard Emma Coronado had 8 points to go along with two assists and nine steals. Junior forward Sierra Tuliau-Jones put up a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards. Senior forward Melissa Diaz had nine boards.

En route to the finale, the Jags took care of business against Edison in their tournament opener with a 64-46 win. Coronado led the way in that one with 13 points. Tuliau-Jones was not to be denied on the glass with another double-double of 12 points and 14 boards. Diaz had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Tsirelas filled the stat sheet with 9 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

In the semi-final, Kimball took down Lathrop in what was their closest game of the tournament on paper – a 62-50 win.

Tuliau-Jones was feeling good all weekend as she took over against Lathrop with 19 points, nine rebounds and one outstanding performance. Coronado had 11 points, four boards, three assists, and three steals out of the backcourt.

Tsirelas was doing it all for the team before taking over the scoring burden in the final. She had 7 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals against Edison. Diaz had 8 points, four rebounds, and six steals. Guard Emaan Khaliqi chipped in with 7 points and four rebounds.

Back to non-league action

The Lady Jags continued their undefeated quest by delivering a road trampling to the Pitman Pride with a 56-18 win in Turlock last Tuesday. It was win No. 8 on the season.

Coronado added to her already impressive freshman resume with a complete performance out of the backcourt. She had 14 points, seven assists, and four steals. Tuliau-Jones and Tsirelas both poured in 12 points each in the win. Tsirelas added six boards, four assists, and six steals to her tally. Tuliau-Jones contributed with seven rebounds and three dimes.

Diaz was huge on the glass with 13 rebounds to go along with two points and six steals.

Kimball 65, Tracy 27

The Jaguar winning machine showed no signs of slowing down on their short crosstown trip to Tracy High where they took down the Bulldogs 65-27.

The Jags seem to have really locked in defensively after their tournament win, allowing just a combined 45 points to their opponents in their last two wins. Tracy didn’t score in double digits in any of the four quarters against Kimball.

Tuliau-Jones continued her fine scoring form of late against the ‘Dogs with a big 18-point performance to lead all Jags. To that she added nine boards and three assists. Returning senior guard Caiya Sims contributed with 13 points.

Tsirelas hit her averages with 12 points, four boards, four assists, and four steals. Khaliqi came up big on the offensive end with 11 points. Coronado had five points, three dimes, two blocks, and four steals on a busy evening out of the backcourt. Diaz was huge on the glass with nine boards.