Women's Basketball: Bear Cubs tough first half not enough against DVC

Women's Basketball: Bear Cubs tough first half not enough against DVC

            The Bear Cubs played host to the conference leading Vikings of Diablo Valley College (16-4, 5-0), who started the week ranked #2 in Northern California behind just College of the Sequoias, and made it a very competitive contest. The Vikings scored the first four points of the game and held a 14-8 advantage at the 11:42 mark. Then Vai Thompson sank a field goal, followed by Jenna Dunbar's 3-point play and another field goal to give the Bear Cubs a 15-14 edge. After scoring two 3-pointers and a couple of field goals, the Vikings moved ahead 24-21 with 6:21 on the clock. Taylor Graham's 3-pointer knotted the score 16 seconds later. But the Bear Cubs made only one of their next 10 shots until Alicia Mehtlan tossed in an underhand shot with 1:30 remaining to make the score 30-32. The Vikings answered with a 3-pointer and a couple of free throws to take a 37-30 lead into halftime.

            The Vikings started off the second half hot while the Bear Cubs were the opposite—they turned the ball over and missed their first five shots. By the time Brooke Santander put in a 3-pointer at the 16:02 mark, they were in a 33-45 hole. The Bear Cubs stayed with the Vikings, and with Taylor Graham's 3-pointer with 3:43 on the clock the score was 53-64. But the Bear Cubs could only add one free throw and Jenna Dunbar's 3-pointer to their total while the Vikings sank four free throws and a final field goal with 36 seconds left to end up with the 57-70 loss.

            The Bear Cubs didn't shoot well (19 out of 67 for 28%), but at least they got off more shots than in their Tuesday night game. They made all 9 of their free throws in the first half, but only 6 out of 12 in the second. They held the Vikings to 32% from the field (23 out of 72).

            Four Vikings scored in double figures, while Jenna Dunbar and Taylor Graham each tallied 11 points for the home team. Alicia Mehtlan had a tough shooting night and ended up with 7 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Vai Thompson added 6 points, Brooke Santander 5, Sarah Arteseros, Niami Saint Louis, and Anne Studdert 4 each, Amber Hart 3, and Brittney Rachuy 2. Jenna Dunbar registered her third double-double of the season with season-high 16 rebounds.