Good starts lifts Falcons to win over Los Medanos

Saturday's 3C2A NorCal Regional women's basketball playoff game pitting Los Medanos against No. 2 seed Folsom Lake was a game lost in the first quarter. After 10 minutes of play, the Falcons held an 18-2 lead, as Folsom Lake held the visiting Mustangs to only two free throws, as the Falcons scored the first 13 points. By the time Los Medanos made its first field goal with 7:46 to play in the half, Folsom Lake led 23-4. Despite the outstanding start, Folsom Lake wasn't able to pull away, as from this point forward through the end of the game Folsom Lake outscored the Mustangs by only two points, 40-38. "Our defense in the first half was awesome," Folsom Lake coach Ali Mollet. "That totally set the tone. It wasn't as good in the third quarter. We're definitely at our best when our defense is sharp and it's turning into our offense." Jada Tupou had a great start to the game, as she scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the first quarter. Nyah Fortune scored five points in the first quarter and ended with 13. Lexi Peters finished with seven points, while Jasmine Clee and Casey Dreiling chipped in six apiece. "Los Medanos did a good job when they switched to zone," Mollet said. "It disrupted our rhythm and we never really found it again. It turned into a grind-it-out game. It wasn't the prettiest, but we did such a good job in the first half that we set ourselves up well." Folsom Lake advances to the next round of the playoffs on Saturday where they will host seventh-seeded San Francisco. It's a match-up similar to the last time the teams played in 2024, where the winner advanced to the Elite 8, which is the same circumstances as this year.