SRJC 64, San Joaquin Delta College 43

            Tuesday evening the Bear Cubs (11-8, 2-2), ranked #10 in the North, hosted the San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs (15-5, 2-2), #4 in the North, after previously losing to them on neutral ground at the College of Sequoias Tournament and the San Jose City College Tournament. The Bear Cubs got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the game on two field goals by Niambi Saint Louis and one by Brooke Santander in just over two minutes. The Mustangs called a timeout and when play resumed, they tied the score at 6 in less than a minute. The Mustangs added seven more unanswered points for a 13-6 lead with three minutes left. By the time the quarter ended the Bear Cubs were behind 10-14 after missing all of their 12 field goal attempts in the last eight minutes and only recording four points on two free throws each by Niambi Saint Louis and Jenna Dunbar.

            The Mustangs scored their first points of the second quarter on a field goal at the 7:38 mark to put their lead at 16-13. Sparked by a scoring drive by Jenna Dunbar and a short shot by Niambi Saint Louis, the Bear Cubs put together an 11-0 run to surge out to a 24-16 advantage with 3:27 on the clock. The Mustangs finished with quarter with just a single free throw and a single field goal, while the Bear Cubs added two free throws by Brooke Santander, a 3-pointer by Madison Barsuglia, and a field goal each by Meme Nicolis and Santander to go into halftime ahead 33-19.

            The Bear Cubs scored first in the third quarter on a fast break with Kerianne Noonen passing to Vai Thompson for the layup. Noonen swished a 3-pointer their next time down the floor. The Mustangs answered with two field goals and a free throw to make the score 38-24 with 7:33 on the clock. Nearly two minutes later Noonen hit another 3-pointer followed by two free throws by Jenna Dunbar for a 43-24 lead at the 5:26 mark. Brooke Santander hit the Bear Cubs' last field goal of the quarter with 4:39 remaining, and the Bear Cubs added four free throws, while the Mustangs made two 3-pointers for a 49-30 score at the end of the period.

            The Bear Cubs posted the first seven points of the fourth quarter in less than two minutes. The Mustangs' first six points of the quarter came on free throws, to make their deficit 36-60 with five minutes remaining in the contest. Vai Thompson made the Bear Cubs' final field goal with 3:08 on the clock for a 62-36 margin. The Mustangs finished with three field goals and a free throw to the Bear Cubs' two free throws to make the final score 64-43.

            The Bear Cubs' zone defense stymied the Mustangs, as they only made 14 out of 70 shots (20%) and scored the fewest points of the season after coming into the game averaging 74.4 points per game (69.5 ppg in Big 8 play).

            Four Bear Cubs scored in double figures: Kerianne Noonen and Niambi Saint Louis with 13 points each, Brooke Santander with 12, and Vai Thompson with 10. Jenna Dunbar added 6 points, Meme Nicolis 5, Madison Barsuglia 4, and Hayley Louzao 1. Kerianne Noonen recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds to go along with her 13 points, and she also led in assists with 7. Vai Thompson grabbed 9 rebounds, Niambi Saint Louis 8, and Jenna Dunbar 7.