On Feb. 11, the Brett Lee Gym on the Pacheco High School campus was packed to the rafters for the Panthers’ “Senior Night” game against the Grace Davis Spartans, with first place in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on the line.
The Spartans (9–4 WAC) trailed the Panthers (11–2 WAC) by a slim half-game lead after last week’s games. However, Davis lost to the Ceres Bulldogs the previous night, resulting in Pacheco holding a full game advantage with at least a share of the league title on the line.
It looked like the Spartans might claim the victory in this important match. Behind the outstanding play of point guard Kaliyanei Saykao (35 points), the Spartans stormed out to a 42–28 halftime lead.
But the Panthers outscored Davis 24–11 in the third period, closing the gap to a single point at 53–52 in favor of the Spartans. It came down to the fourth and final period to see which team would emerge victorious and secure first place in the WAC. It’s the first time since the school opened in 2010.
Panthers point guard and league MVP candidate Sasha Siemiller scored 6 of her game-high 27 points in the period.
Her teammate Mary Tava added 11 of her 15 points to help the Panthers outscore the Spartans 23–14 in the fourth quarter en route to a thrilling 75–67 come-from-behind victory over Grace Davis. Siemiller (27 points, 12 rebounds) paced the Panthers’ effort.
Tava (15 points, eight rebounds), Ashley Jimenez (10 points, two rebounds), Jeanette Ortiz (seven points, four rebounds), Ellie Tapia (eight points, two rebounds), Nikki Nance (five points, nine rebounds) and Bianca Trujillo (three points) contributed to this victory.
With their win over Grace Davis, the Panthers secured the number one seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs—and no less than a tie for the conference title.
On Thursday, the Panthers (12–2 WAC) closed their 2025 WAC regular season with a 48–30 victory over the Livingston Wolfpack. Siemiller paced the Panthers’ offense, netting a game-high 16 points, followed by Tava (nine points) and Tapia (six points).
Pacheco is seeded eighth and hosted Fairfield Tuesday night. Check out the Feb. 26 edition for the complete story.
