Escalon’s point guard and leader named Modesto Bee girls basketball Player of the Year

When Sammy Lang walked into the University Credit Union Center at UC Davis, she couldn’t help but be in awe.

She was amazed not only because the Escalon High girls basketball team did the unthinkable by making the first section championship in girls basketball program history, but also because it was her performances all season that made the trip possible.

“Just walking in the arena and seeing the guys playing before us, I’m just amazed like I can’t believe we made it this far,” she said. “But we had a really good season and we have really good girls and we battle.”

The Cougars ran into a Sac-Joaquin Section small school dynasty, falling 64-48 to Colfax High, but it was still an experience the senior won’t forget.

“It felt amazing, even though it didn’t end up how we wanted it to,” she said of making it to the championship game. “Being there with the group of girls that I was with, I wouldn’t want to be with anybody else.”

As a senior, Lang was thrown into a role as the Cougars’ leader and main scorer when fellow senior Macie Vickers had to miss time with an injury, but Lang was ready. After transferring to Escalon as a sophomore, she elected to play the whole season on junior varsity instead of sitting out half a season to join the varsity team just after Christmas that year. She led the junior varsity team to a perfect record. As a junior, she earned first team All-TVL honors while leading Escalon to the section semifinals and a NorCal playoff berth.

“I knew that I was one of the seniors the younger ones were gonna be looking up to, especially after the run last year,” Lang said. “It’s like a lot of fun, but also a lot of pressure because they’re counting on you, and you just want to be a good leader.”

Lang played in all 32 games for Escalon this season, averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 4.7 steals per game to lead the Cougars to a co-TVL championship, a section title game and a NorCal home playoff game.

After leading the Cougars in a historic season and earning Trans Valley League Co-MVP honors, Lang is The Bee’s girls basketball Player of the Year.

Lang and the Cougars were one of The Bee’s top girls basketball teams all season. They started the season winning their first 19 games. They won all three tournaments they entered en route to a perfect non-league schedule. They went 10-2 in the highly competitive TVL, finishing as three-way co-champions with Hughson and Riverbank.

“I knew that our team was going to be good right from the tip-off of our first game,” Lang said. “The first game always matters … we scored the first point and that’s when you could just tell in everyone’s eyes like right from the tip. Everyone had their game face on. We were gonna try for everybody, especially our seniors.”

Their game plan included pressure defense and a constant motion dribble-drive attacking offense. They used that to win 28 games, the most in recent recorded history, and win their first two playoff games by 21.5 points.

Lang came up big down the stretch with Escalon’s season on the line, sinking two clutch free throws to send the team to the Division IV section championship in a 49-47 win over West Campus.

Girls basketball coach Joe Dalpogetti knew Lang’s leadership would translate easily. She was a captain on the Cougars’ inaugural girls flag football team, which reached the section semifinals. Plus, he found she always had a knack for keeping the mood light.

“Even though she’s competitive, she still made everybody smile and laugh all the time,” he said. “I think about practices and when I’m talking there’s somebody goofing around, and it was Sammy. But sometimes I can be a little intense, so the team needed something on the lighter side. She always provided that for us.”

Lang will go to Delta next year where she hopes to continue playing basketball and begin studying to become a firefighter.

“I have a family in the medical field and I felt like firefighting was always right there,” she said. “I was thinking about being a cop but I just feel like firefighting is the thing that’s pulling me.”

Fan Vote Player of the Year

Siena Musson, Patterson

The Patterson girls basketball team won its first 16 straight games to start the 2023-24 season and senior guard/forward Siena Musson is a big reason why. She did just about everything for the Tigers, recording a season-high in points (22 against Lathrop and Gregori) and notching 14 points and 15 rebounds as one of her three double-doubles. In those first 16 games, she also had 10 games with multiple steals and seven with multiple blocks.

Musson is a four-year varsity team member who has overcome a lot. She was on the team during a pandemic-shortened freshman season and played just nine games the next year, missing most of her sophomore season after an offseason ankle injury. She exploded as a junior and improved even more in just her second full varsity season as a senior.

During Central California Conference play this season, Musson led the Tigers to a second-place league finish and was named a first-team All-League performer for the second season in a row. Her versatility showed, she led the team in scoring (14.1 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 rebounds) and finished her senior season averaging career highs in points, rebounds, steals and blocks.

“She communicates with the girls so well, it’s nice to have someone on the court who is just so level-headed,” said Patterson assistant coach Shealyn Craven. “She was extremely composed ... was important because we could trust her. I could tell towards the end of the year, everyone was looking to her for advice ... and she never budged. She never backed down.”

The fans took note of her stellar season, voting Musson The Bee’s Girls Fan Vote Player of the Year. She finished first in the poll, collecting 46% of the more than 243,000 votes. She finished ahead of Pitman’s Elizabeth Webb and Riverbank’s Rayne Tago who came in second and third, respectively.

Modesto Bee 2023-24 Girls Basketball All-District Team

First Team

Madi Duron, Hughson, Senior

Named the TVL Co-MVP, Duron led the Huskies to a co-TVL title, shared with Escalon and Riverbank. Whenever it seemed Hughson needed a bucket, Duron had the answer. She helped lead the team to a 20-9 overall record and a Division IV section playoff quarterfinals appearance.

Chancis Gamez, Riverbank, Senior

Gamez ran the show for the Bruins, leading them to at least the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals and NorCal first round in back-to-back seasons. She was named the TVL Most Outstanding Player after helping Riverbank win its second straight league co-title, averaging 14 points, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game. She finished the season top 10 in the section in assists.

Siena Musson, Patterson, Senior

Musson was the Tigers’ leading scorer and rebounder and notched six double-doubles this season. A guard/forward who was named a CCC first team All-League player made 68 threes this season and helped Patterson start the season with 19 wins in its first 20 games.

Marissa Renteria, Ceres, Senior

Renteria was named to the Western Athletic Conference All-League First Team after leading the charge in Ceres’ historic season. She averaged 14.8 points and five steals to lead the Bulldogs as the team won more than 20 games for the first time since 2005-06. Renteria helped Ceres secure its first playoff appearance since the 2012-13 season.

Rayne Tago, Riverbank, Senior

A TVL First Team All-League honoree, Tago was one of three double-digit scorers for the Bruins. She nearly averaged a double-double with 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds and had a huge 23-point, 18-rebound performance on the road in a NorCal playoff win over University Prep.

Elizabeth Webb, Pitman, Senior

Webb nailed 6 threes and 23 points in a CCAL game late in the regular season to help the Pride win their five final regular season games and secure a share of the league title. Named the CCAL MVP, Webb averaged 13.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game, all good for second best on the team.

Second Team

Kylie Kulina, Beyer, Junior

Taylor Macias, Riverbank, Junior

Taylor Mason, Patterson, Senior

Arianna Velasco, Escalon, Freshman

Maddie Yonker, Ripon Christian, Senior

Jamie Zarilla, Johansen, Senior

Honorable Mention: Beyer: Alana Dancer; Central Catholic: Allie Abbate; Ceres: Arrayah Stallworth; Davis: Kali Saykao; Downey: Joslyn Sheppard; Enochs: Natalie Quinones; Escalon: Madison Babasa; Gregori: Alanah Lopez, Veronica Whitten; Hilmar: Alicia Souza; Hughson: Kareena Kang; Johansen: Bethany Albarran; Modesto: Julia Pedretti; Oakdale: Brooke Wheat; Patterson: Daneilla Garcia, Nevaeh Goins; Pitman: Dailynn Greener; Ripon: Kailee Inderbitzin; Ripon Christian: Reagan VanDerHoek; Riverbank: Alexis Felix, Avah Luu; Turlock: Lexie Franco, Olivia Walker