Seven Bulldogs scored in the first half against Chavez High of Stockton as the Tracy High girls basketball team sped out to a 30-9 halftime lead on Thursday, Jan. 17.

But the home Bulldogs (12-8, 3-1 San Joaquin Athletic Association) had to fend off a second-half charge to notch a 46-37 victory, Tracy tied with the Bear Creek Bruins for second place in league and in the running for a SJAA title

Tracy coach Derek Solano said that his players need to be consistent if they want that opportunity.

“We played a really good half and then played a really bad half,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Early in the game, Tracy forced Chavez (7-13, 1-3 SJAA) to turn over the ball and was keyed by scoring leaders seniors Emily Anchartechahar, who had 12 points in the game, and Karsi Fyfe, who had 11 points.

In the third quarter, though, the Tracy offense managed only six points. The Titans’ Kelsey Bumanglag hit three of her four 3-pointers for the night in the second half and scored 16 of her game-high 20 points.

“Instead of doing the simple things we did in the first half, we started making it too complex and making bad decisions,” Solano said.

Chavez coach Willie Duncan said his players just had to be more careful and deliberate about how they moved the ball.

“I told my girls that they weren’t really pressing us. We were pressing ourselves, and had a lot of unforced errors, throwing the ball away,” Duncan said.

Tracy now prepares for a midseason showdown with Bear Creek in Stockton on Tuesday, Jan. 22, to see which team has a chance to challenge Lincoln for the SJAA title in the second round of league play.

• Contact Bob Brownne at 830-4227 or brownne@tracypress.com.