SRJC 80, LA Valley 81 in 2 OT

            The Monarchs won the tipoff to start the game and soon put the first two points on the scoreboard with two free throws. Ten seconds later Madison Barsuglia sank a 12-footer to tie the game and then two trips later added another one for a 4-2 lead. After exchanging leads with the Monarchs, Jenny Eggers' field goal with 4:20 on the clock put the Bear Cubs back in front 10-9. The Monarchs responded with a 7-0 run to jump out in front 16-10 with 1:39 left. Meme Nicolis hit a short outside shot with 33 seconds remaining, and the Monarchs finished the scoring the way they started it--with two free throws--to hold an 18-12 lead at the end of the quarter.

            The Bear Cubs began the second quarter with a Meme Nicolis field goal followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Sadie Irvine and La Donna Saint Louis to recapture the lead 20-18 with 8:34 on the clock. The Monarchs then scored the next seven points before Madison Barsuglia dropped in a 3-pointer at the 5:55 mark, making the score 23-25. Following a 3-pointer and two field goals, the Monarchs' lead was 32-25 with 2:16 remaining. Madison Barsuglia hit another 3-pointer 21 seconds later and La Donna Saint Louis put in a field goal with nine seconds left to close the Bear Cubs' deficit to 30-32 at the end of the half.

            The Monarchs sank a field goal first in the third quarter and added another one two and a half minutes later for a 36-31 lead. After missing their first four shots of the period, the Bear Cubs finally sank one--a 3-pointer by Sadie Irvine with 5:22 on the clock. On their next possession Meme Nicolis hit a short shot, then Irvine dropped in another 3-pointer for a 39-38 lead at the 4:15 mark. The Monarchs hit a short shot 20 seconds later. When Irvine made her third 3-pointer of the quarter with 2:35 remaining, it put the Bear Cubs ahead 45-42. The Monarchs scored their last two points of the period with 1:35 left. Thirty-three seconds later, Jenny Eggers swished a 3-pointer. With 18 seconds to go, Sadie Irvine was fouled and made both free throws. Following a miss by the Monarchs, Irvine got the rebound and quickly drove along the sideline and launched a shot from just past half court, which banked in as the buzzer sounded, giving the Bear Cubs a 53-44 lead at the end of the quarter.

            The Bear Cubs started the fourth quarter with the ball and La Donna Saint Louis hit a field goal. Ninety seconds later the Monarchs converted a 3-point play and strung together six more unanswered points before Jenny Eggers finally added a 2-pointer for the Bear Cubs at the 5:32 mark, making the score 57-53. The Monarchs responded with another 3-point play, two free throws, and a 3-pointer to go up 61-57 with 3:40 on the clock. On the Bear Cubs next two possessions Zaina Depina sank a 3-pointer and Sadie Irvine a field goal to retake the lead. A Monarch field goal with 2:07 left put them ahead 63-62. Twenty seconds later Ashley Hart drew a foul. She missed the first free throw but made the second to tie the score. Sadie Irvine's two free throws with 51 seconds to go put the Bear Cubs ahead 65-63. Seven seconds later an L.A. Valley player drew a foul. She missed the first but made the second. The Bear Cubs missed their next shot attempt, the Monarchs rebounded, and drew a foul with 15 seconds left. She made the tying free throw but missed the second. The Bear Cubs rebounded and called a timeout. Both team had chance to take a shot in the final 15 seconds but none were successful, sending the game into overtime.

            The Monarchs scored a field goal 72 seconds into the five-minute overtime period. Twenty-nine seconds later Sadie Irvine sank her sixth 3-pointer of the game. Tiffany Salinas' hook shot at the 2:35 mark lifted the Bear Cubs to a 70-67 lead. Fourteen seconds later Lydia Pope converted her second 3-point play to tie the score. Then Diamond O'Connor scored the go-ahead field goal with 55 seconds left. Sadie Irvine drew a foul 11 seconds later and made both free throws to tie the game at 72. Neither team was able to break the tie in the remaining 44 seconds, sending the game in the second overtime period.

            Pope made one free throw in the first minute of the second OT. La Donna Saint Louis hit a field goal at the 3:55 mark and about a minute later Sadie Irvine made one for a 76-73 margin. Then Tyler Polk converted a 3-point play to tie the contest. Pope made one free throw with 2:02 on the clock then added two more points on a putback with 40 seconds left. Both teams missed their next shots. With just three seconds remaining Sadie Irvine was fouled on an apparent 3-point attempt, but the officials (mistakenly according to the video) ruled she was in front of the arc. Irvine made the first free throw to make the score 77-79. She purposely tried to miss the next free throw, but the shot didn't even hit the rim. Following their last timeout, the Monarchs inbounded in front of their bench. The Bear Cubs almost forced a five-second call but had to foul. Pope made both free throws for an 81-77 advantage with 1.9 seconds to go. The Bear Cubs called their last timeout and inbounded in front of their bench. Madison Barsuglia caught the inbounds pass and swished a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, bringing the tight battle to a dramatic completion one point short for the Bear Cubs 80-81.

            The Bear Cubs made more baskets than their opponents, but the Monarchs made 24 out of 34 (71%) free throws, while the Bear Cubs only took 20 free throws making 12 (60%). The Monarchs made five 3-pointers and converted four 3-point plays. The Bear Cubs made 12 3-pointers, with half of them by Sadie Irvine. Four Monarchs scored in double figures: O'Connor with 21, Pope 20, point guard Emily Chan 18, and Rebecca Islas 10.

            Three Bear Cubs scored in double figures with all three establishing season highs. Sadie Irvine made 6 out of 9 3-point attempts and finished with 31 points. La Donna Saint Louis made 6 baskets, including her first 3-pointer, and 3 free throws to total 16 points. Madison Barsuglia tallied 13 points by making all 3 of her shots from beyond the arc plus 2 out of 3 field goal attempts. Jenny Eggers and Meme Nicolis each added 7 points, Zaina Depina 3, Tiffany Salinas 2, and Ashley Hart 1. Nicolis pulled down a career high 12 rebounds, and Saint Louis grabbed 7. Destiny Grayer passed for 6 assists. Irvine made 4 assists and 4 steals.