The girl’s varsity basketball team played an astounding season that made Ripon High School proud. Although the team did not go as far in the playoffs as they hoped, they still exceeded expectations and performed their best.

The varsity team was 22-5 overall and had a record of 11-1 in league. Throughout the season, the team proved to everyone how hard they practiced, how well they worked together, and how much they desired to win throughout the season.

The girl’s season was off to a good start as they defeated their rival Escalon in the first league game at home to boost their confidence. From that point on, Ripon successfully defeated many other strong teams including Hilmar, Hughson, and Riverbank.

In the first round of playoffs, the varsity team went into the game with their heads held high ready to face Calaveras in order to move on to the second round of playoffs. With the confidence they gained from beating many successful teams in league, they were able to win and move on with a score of 64-53.

After coming off from a win, the varsity team was ready for their next game. But their hearts sank as they soon figured out that they would be playing Lathrop High, a team with strong girls and an incredible record.

The girls went into the game with a desire to win. No matter what the outcome was, they knew that they still had a successful season and that they played hard. The Indians lost with a score of 80-34.

The girl’s varsity team’s season may have came to an end too soon, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to come back and play harder next year. Even those who will be graduating this year will root on the team for years to come. The seniors on the 2017-2018 basketball team included Kayla Jacklich, Sarah Thompson, Savannah Clark, Katie Kaiser, and Janessa Inderbitzen.

Senior Savannah Clark played an incredible season as she achieved 8.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game. Junior Mia Van Lewen made 5.3 points, and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Sophomore Tianna Sidtikun made 7.7 points, 4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. All three players made the All-League First Team. Junior Rachel Sausedo made Honourable Mentions.

Perhaps playing her best season so far, Ripon’s point guard Reina Sausedo deserves a lot of credit and praise for the performance she had for the 2017-2018 basketball season. Sausedo had an astounding 23.4 points, 3.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 steals per game.

Reina Sausedo was named one of the MVP’s of TVL and even battled through sickness multiple times to be there for her team.