SRJC 43, Sacramento City College 55
For their first home game of 2018, the Bear Cubs (5-8, 1-2) hosted the Panthers of Sacramento City College (4-8, 1-2) on a drizzly Thursday evening. The Panthers made the first basket of the game 80 seconds in on a baseline shot as the shot clock sounded. Brandy Huffhines scored again, this time on a drive, 30 seconds later. Jenny Eggers hit an 8-footer with 7:55 on the clock. Destiny Grayer made two free throws nearly a minute afterward. Kylie Oden drew a shooting foul at the 6:19 mark and made just her second free throw for a 5-4 lead. With 5:02 left, Eggers scored on a baseline inbounds play. The next time down, Eggers used a low post screen to get wide open and scored off the pass from Grayer, prompting a Sac City timeout. Once play resumed Huffhines swished a 3-pointer over a defender's outstretched arm. Eggers responded with a reverse layup. Huffhines sank another 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run by the Panthers. Angel Bernardi banked in a 6-footer with 21 seconds left, and the Panthers' 12-footer at the buzzer from the baseline kissed off the glass and through the net for an 18-13 lead.
Jenny Eggers scored the first two points of the second quarter on a short shot with 8:14 on the clock. With 6:55 left Kylie Oden intercepted a pass near her own basket and sank the layup to get to 17-18. The Panthers scored their first basket at the 6:08 mark. Angel Bernardi made a driving layup with 4:36 remaining, and the Panthers answered with a 3-pointer. They made two more field goals before DJ Hayes banked in a drive, making the score 21-27 at halftime.
The Panthers sank a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the third quarter. Destiny Grayer matched it with her own 3-pointer. She drew a shooting foul the next time down but only made one free throw. Following a single free throw by Huffhines, Kylie Oden made her only 3-pointer of the game with 7:28 on the clock to close the gap to 28-31. Huffhines responded with a field goal and a 3-pointer. The Bear Cubs added only four free throws by Angel Bernardi in the next two and a half minutes, as did the Panthers. Mireya Lopez's field goal with 1:47 left made the score 34-42. During the remainder of the quarter Huffhines sank a field goal and Kylie Oden made three out of four free throws, putting the deficit at the end of the period at 37-44.
The Bear Cubs started the fourth quarter with the ball and passed to Destiny Grayer on a backdoor cut. She was fouled on the play and made both free throws. The Panthers sank a 3-pointer 100 seconds later and then added a field goal before Jenny Eggers sank a shot from the post with 6:52 on the clock. The Panthers made two more field goals before Kylie Oden finally made the Bear Cubs' last basket with 1:50 left. The Panthers swished the final basket with four seconds to go as their shot clock buzzer sounded. The Bear Cubs only had time for a desperation 60-footer that bounced off the backboard, ending the 43-55 loss.
After making 9 out of 31 shots (29%) in the first half, the Bear Cubs made only 5 out of 24 (20%) in the second half. The Panthers made 21 baskets on 46 attempts (46%). At least five times they managed to beat the shot clock or quarter-ending buzzer with shots that all fell through the net. Huffhines led all scorers with 22 points on 8 out of 11 shooting.
Jenny Eggers led the Bear Cubs with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. Kylie Oden managed only 11 points, including 4 out of 8 from the free throw line. Destiny Grayer and Angel Bernardi each scored 8 points. Mireya Lopez and DJ Hayes added 2 points each. Bernardi grabbed 7 rebounds. Grayer and Bernardi both had 3 assists and 3 steals each. Oden blocked 4 shots and Lopez 3.