SRJC 66, Reedley College 37
Following three weeks without facing competition, the Bear Cubs (0-2) finally played their third game of the season in the opening round of the 16-team College of Sequoias Tournament against the Reedley College Tigers (2-3). Jenny Eggers got the Bear Cubs on the scoreboard first with two free throws 1:02 into the game. Sixty-seven seconds later Tiffany Salinas score the first field goal. Nearly a minute and a half later, Meme Nicolis made one of two free throws. Ashley Hart's field goal at the 2:22 mark gave the Bear Cubs a 7-0 lead. La Donna Saint Louis and Hayley Louzao each added a field goal, and the Tigers finally scored on a putback with 6 seconds left. The Bear Cubs only made 4 out of 17 shots in the quarter (23%) but were ahead 11-2.
The Tigers opened the second quarter by swishing a 3-pointer. On the Bear Cubs' next turn on offense, Destiny Grayer hit her own 3. Following a miss by the Tigers, Sadie Irvine hit a 3-pointer, and Tiffany Salinas banked in a close shot for a 19-5 lead. Zaina Depina's 3-pointer at the 3:17 mark stretched the advantage to 26-5. A field goal each by Angel Bernardi and La Donna Saint Louis made it 30-6. With 51 seconds on the clock Saint Louis completed a 3-point play, and the Tigers scored the final points of the quarter 9 seconds later to make the score going into halftime 33-8.
The Tigers started the third quarter the same way they did the second—with a swished 3-pointer. The Bear Cubs missed their first three shots of the period before Zaina Depina drained a 3-pointer with 7:54 on the clock. Then the Tigers went on a 12-0 run to close to 23-36 at the 3:40 mark. Following a Santa Rosa timeout, the Bear Cubs tightened up their defense, forcing their opponents to miss shots and throw passes that were intercepted. Ashley Hart and Tiffany Salinas sparked the offense with two straight field goals, prompting the Reedley coach to call a timeout. The Tigers scored a field goal with 30 seconds left and Destiny Grayer hit a 3-pointer two seconds before the buzzer sounded for a 43-25 margin.
The Bear Cubs accounted for the first four points of the final quarter on two free throws each by Salinas and Grayer during the opening minute. Ashley Hart's 3-pointer with 8:14 on the clock made the score 50-25. The Tigers quickly responded with a field goal, and Saint Louis hit one with 6:40 remaining. Then Zaina Depina and Madison Barsuglia dropped in back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by Saint Louis' 3-point play, to increase the lead to 61-29 with 4:30 left. The tigers could only add four free throws and two field goals to their final total, while Grayer put in another 3-pointer and Angel Bernardi a field goal, to make the final score 66-37.
The Bear Cubs outrebounded the Tigers 53-31, including a 21-11 advantage on the offensive glass, with Tiffany Salinas pulling down 8 of them. The Bear Cubs made 24 out of 66 shots (36%), while their opponents were successful on 13 out of 54 (24%).
Tiffany Salinas recorded the Bear Cubs' first double-double of the season with team-highs of 12 points and 14 rebounds. La Donna Saint Louis came off the bench to also score 12 points. Zaina Depina made three 3-pointers for 9 points. Destiny Grayer hit two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws for 8 points. Jenny Eggers added 7 points, Ashley Hart 5, Angel Bernardi 4, Madison Barsuglia 3, Sadie Irvine 3, Hayley Louzao 2, and Meme Nicolis 1 as everyone scored.
Depina grabbed 8 rebounds and Irvine 6. Angel Bernardi led in assists with 5 and Ashley Hart in steals with 3.