SRJC 81, Mendocino College 41
The Bear Cubs (2-3) finally got to play a home game as they hosted the Mendocino College Eagles (0-5) in the first round of their own Caren Franci Invitational Tournament. The Eagles scored on their first possession, but Destiny Grayer soon tied the score with a drive through traffic. Then on their next turn with the ball, Jenny Eggers' short shot put the Bear Cubs ahead 4-2. The Eagles hit a 3-pointer to go back in front at 5-4. A minute later Angel Bernardi's post move made the score 6-5. Neither team scored for two minutes until post player Mireya Lopez banked in a fast break layup. Kylie Oden swished two 3-pointers in a row followed by Bernardi's 3-ball to get the lead to 17-5 with 2:54 on the clock. The Eagles scored their final basket of the quarter with 2:28 left. But the Bear Cubs weren't done. Gaby Roldan hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline, Destiny Grayer drove through the key, and Roldan cut to the basket and scored on a pass from Grayer to stretch the lead at the end of the period to 25-7.
Britta Irvine started the scoring in the second period with a 3-pointer and Kylie Oden followed it with a 10-footer. The Eagles made one of two free throws with 7:49 on the clock. The Bear Cubs went on an 8-0 run before the Eagles made their first basket of the quarter at the 5:36 mark. The Eagles outscored the Bear Cubs 6-4 during the next four minutes until Mireya Lopez dropped in a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to make the halftime score 45-16.
The Eagles' post player scored inside on their first time with the ball in the third quarter. Then Jenny Eggers drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. The Bear Cubs tacked on the next seven points on Eggers inside move, Oden's 3-pointer, and Grayer's short shot for a 54-18 lead with 7:19 on the clock. During the next six minutes the Bear Cubs made four field goals and a free throw, while the Eagles made 6 out of 10 free throws. The Eagles finally sank a field goal with 1:16 left, and Madeline Strom made a short baseline shot to get the score to 65-26 at the end of the period.
Jenny Eggers made the first basket of the fourth quarter from inside the key. The Eagles countered with a 3-pointer. Eggers then scored from inside again, and the Eagles made another 3-pointer. The Bear Cubs missed their next seven shots, only adding two free throws, while the Eagles tallied 8 points to cut their deficit to 40-71 with 4:04 left. The Bear Cubs made 3 out of 4 free throws before Destiny Grayer sank the final basket of the contest--a 3-pointer--with 2:10 to go. In the remaining time the Eagles made one free throw, while Angel Bernardi and Mireya Lopez both made two each, resulting in a final score of 81-41.
The Bear Cubs shot well in the first half, making 19 out of 35 shots (54%), including 6 out of 9 from beyond the arc. In the second half, though, they made only 11 out of 31 (35%) and 2 out of 7 from 3-point land.
Four Bear Cubs scored in double figures: Kylie Oden with 19, Jenny Eggers and Angel Bernardi 12 each, and Destiny Grayer 10. Mireya Lopez added 9, Gaby Roldan 7, Madeline Strom 5, DJ Hayes 4, and Britta Irvine 3. Destiny Grayer and Angel Bernardi were the top rebounders with 6 each. Grayer and Bernardi also led in assists with 5 each.