Women's Basketball: Big 8 Rival Delta gets the best of the Bear Cubs

Women's Basketball: Big 8 Rival Delta gets the best of the Bear Cubs

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.