SRJC 58, Sierra College 72
The Bear Cubs (13-8, 4-2) traveled to Rocklin to take on the first place Wolverines of Sierra College (16-6, 5-1), who started the week ranked #4 in Northern California. Niambi Saint Louis made the first field goal of the game by sinking the Bear Cubs' first shot. The Wolverines took a 3-2 lead on a 3-point play at the 8:15 mark and hit a field goal 39 seconds later. Jenna Dunbar's 3-pointer tied the game on the Bear Cubs' next possession. The remaining 7:18 of the quarter was a fast and furious back and forth battle. The Bear Cubs made 7 out of 15 shots, including one 3-pointer each by Brooke Santander and Kerianne Noonen. Meanwhile the Wolverines also made 7 shots, with three of them from beyond the arc, to take a 22-21 lead by the end of the quarter.
The Wolverines scored a field goal on their first time with the ball in the second quarter. Hayley Louzao matched it 29 seconds later on a drive through traffic. After Jenna Dunbar scored the Bear Cubs' next field goal at the 5:08 mark, they were behind 28-33. Ashley Hart sank the Bear Cubs' final field goal of the quarter with 2:25 on the clock to close the gap to 31-35. The Wolverines completed the scoring in the quarter with a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, to go into halftime ahead 38-31.
Kerianne Noonen recorded the first two points of the third quarter on a pair of free throws. The Wolverines sank a field goal on their next trip down on offense and added another 75 seconds later for a 42-33 lead. Vai Thompson scored the Bear Cubs' first field goal of the quarter nearly two minutes into the period. Two offensive trips later, Noonen swished a 3-pointer and Brooke Santander followed with a field goal to reduce the differential to 41-44 with 6:52 on the clock. The Bear Cubs could only make 2 of their final 13 shots in the quarter. For their part the Wolverines got hot, going on an 18-6 run to stretch their advantage to 62-47 as the quarter came to a close.
The Wolverines scored first in the fourth quarter after 44 seconds of play. The Bear Cubs finally added to their total thanks to a 3-pointer by Zaina Depina with 7:42 on the clock. Kerianne Noonen's 3-pointer 66 seconds later made the deficit 53-64. The Wolverines responded with their own 3-pointer 20 seconds after that and added a one-foot shot by their 6'7" center with 5:01 left for a 69-53 lead. The Bear Cubs scored the next four points on a free throw by Niambi Saint Louis and a 3-pointer by Noonen. Noonen's one of two free throws with 3:22 remaining accounted for the Bear Cubs' final points of the contest. After adding one free throw, the Wolverines scored their last points on a field goal with 2:23 to play to close out the 72-58 victory.
The Bear Cubs shot well in the first quarter, making 9 out of 22 shots (41%), but couldn't sustain that level of accuracy, as they only made 11 out of 42 shots (26%) during the remaining three quarters. The taller Wolverines outrebounded the Bear Cubs 59-38, including 25 offensive boards with 7 of them converted into 14 points.
Kerianne Noonen made half of her 16 shots, including 4 3-pointers, and 3 out of 4 free throws to total 23 points. Jenna Dunbar pulled down 7 rebounds and scored 10 points. Brooke Santander, who left the game early in the fourth quarter after sustaining a hard blow to the neck, finished with 7 points. Vai Thompson added 5 points and Ashley Hart 4. Niambi Saint Louis, Zaina Depina, and Hayley Louzao each tallied 3 points. Ashley Hart also grabbed 7 rebounds. Kerianne Noonen passed for 4 of the team's 9 assists.