BOARDMAN, ORE. - Double-digit scoring performances by the trio of Mia Herrera, Alyssa Nash and Soila Zaragoza sparked Mabton to a 64-50 non-league victory over the Riverside High School Pirates last Saturday.
It's the first time this season the Mabton girls basketball team (1-2, 3-5) has put together back-to-back wins. The Lady Viking hoopsters will attempt to make it three victories in a row this coming Friday, when they return to SCAC league action and host the Zillah Leopards. Mabton jumps back out of conference play the following night with another home game on Saturday against visiting Columbia-Burbank.
In picking up a road win last Saturday in Boardman, Ore. against the Riverside Pirates, Coach Chris McCallum said his club played well offensively. He was pleased with the Lady Vikes' balanced attack, as Herrera canned a game-high 14 points, followed by the double-digit scoring of Nash and Zaragoza with 12 apiece. Mabton also received a combined 17 points from Cassidy McCallum and Desanay Guerreo with 9 and 8 points, respectively, with Irene Pineda popping in 7 points.
The lone Pirate in double figures in the scoring column was Jessica Smith. She connected on 6-of-8 shots from the field in dropping in a team-high 12 points for Riverside.
In besting the Oregon team on its home court, Mabton just chipped away at the Pirates. The Lady Vikings opened the game with a 20-16 first-quarter advantage, extending their lead to 38-30 at the half. Mabton outscored the Pirates by one in the third period, then closed out the action with a 16-11 run in the final stanza.
Shooting-wise, Mabton connected on 25-of-52 shots from the field, which included going 3-for-11 from behind the 3-point arc.
McCallum noted his club made 11-of-18 (61 percent) from the free throw line. "Our team goal is 70 percent, so we're getting closer to that mark," he said. The leaders for Mabton at the foul line were Pineda (2-for-2) and Nash (4-for-6).
Nash also was a leader for Mabton in getting the ball to her teammates, as she dished out a game-high six assists. Nash, too, powered the Lady Vikings on the boards, gathering in a game-high six rebounds, which helped give Mabton a 26 to 20 advantage in pulling down the loose balls off the glass. Also helping out considerably on the boards were McCallum with five rebounds, and the trio of Zaragoza, Herrera and Guerreo with four apiece.
As well as the Lady Vikings played Saturday, their coach still wants to see improvement, especially when their opponent has the ball.
"We need to get better on the defensive end," McCallum said. "We gave up too many points and committed a lot of fouls."
He explained that his girls are not sliding their feet when guarding their opponents, "...and are reaching way too much.
"If we want to reach our team goals we have to fix this part of our game," McCallum said.