SRJC 45, San Joaquin Delta College 59

            In the third round elimination game of the College of Sequoias Tournament the Bear Cubs (1-3) took on their Big 8 rivals, the Mustangs (5-3) of San Joaquin Delta College. Tiffany Salinas scored the first field goal of the game after just 22 seconds. Then Brittany Butler swished a 3-pointer for the Mustangs 20 seconds later. A little over two minutes later, Butler hit another 3-pointer. Zaina Depina's 3-pointer at the 5:22 mark and field goal 56 seconds after that put the Bear Cubs ahead 7-6. Following two Mustang field goals, Tiffany Salinas' basket with 1:10 left found the Bear Cubs behind 9-10. The Mustangs ended the quarter with six unanswered points to hold a 16-9 advantage after the first 10 minutes.

            Tiffany Salinas scored three points in the first 1:36 of the second quarter. Zaina Depina's field goal 1:20 later made the score 14-17. The Mustangs went on an 8-0 run on a single field goal and six free throws to jump out to a 25-14 lead with 3:37 on the clock. Then the Bear Cubs mounted a comeback beginning with Depina's field goal nine seconds later and included two field goals by La Donna Saint Louis, a 3-pointer by Angel Bernardi, and a field goal by Jenny Eggers to cut deficit 25-29 by halftime.

            Salinas' field goal and Depina's two free throws tied the contest at 29 at the 7:44 mark. Hayley Louzao's driving layup put the Bear Cubs ahead 31-30 with six minutes remaining. Then Butler hit two 3-pointers to help put her team back in front 37-31 with 3:28 left. Jenny Eggers drew a foul and made one free throw, and La Donna Saint Louis made a field goal with 2:30 left to get to 34-37. Then the Mustangs outscored the Bear Cubs 9-1 to lengthen their lead to 46-35 by the end of the quarter.

            The Mustangs sank the first two field goals of the final quarter before Jenny Eggers sank one with 6:52 on the clock, followed by Ashley Hart's 3-pointer to make the score 40-50. But the Bear Cubs missed their final 12 shots of the game, only adding five points on free throws, while the Mustangs sank three field goals and a 3-pointer to win the game 59-45.

            After making 11 out of 27 shots (40.7%) in the first half, the Bear Cubs only made 5 out of 30 (16.7%) in the second half. The Mustangs made 8 out of 30 (26.7%) in the first half and 11 out of 26 (42.3%) in the second. Brittany Butler, who made four 3-pointers, led all scorers with 18 points.

            Tiffany Salinas led the Bear Cubs in scoring with 13 points and in rebounding with 6. Zaina Depina contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds. La Donna Saint Louis added 6 points, Jenny Eggers 5, Ashley Hart 3, Angel Bernardi 3, Meme Nicolis 2, and Hayley Louzao 2. Madison Barsuglia passed for 3 assists.