Shafter 46, Wasco 39

Sometimes you have to win ugly.  This was one of those times.  The Generals went up 7-0 to start the game, but ended the first quarter on the wrong side of a 16-2 run.  Wasco failed to score in the second period and the game went into halftime with the Generals leading 23-16.  The margin didn't change much over the half and the game ended with Shafter 7 points ahead.

Update: For those who weren't at the game, the gym was full and the atmosphere was great.  The girls team deserves a lot of credit for that. They are good and they bring a crowd.  Also, Coach Wiebe invited all of the 6-8th grade kids who attended a clinic on Thursday night to come to the game for free and I saw a bunch of future Generals in attendance.   Teams rise and fall with the talent that happens to come out to play in a given year.  Programs rise and fall because they don't trust luck, but make investments in the community and the future.  Both boys and girls basketball are doing that.  Beneath the ups and downs of individual seasons and teams and players, program level momentum is building.  This week was evidence of that.  The Jr. High teams at Richland dominated Thomas Jefferson earlier in the week and, on Friday, Wasco only managed a last second win in the boys Frosh-soph game.   Our boys and girls varsity teams, frankly, did not play well.  The emerging gap between the  programs provided the cushion necessary to get wins anyway.