Women's Basketball: Bear Cubs a fend off a late run by Laney

#13 Britta Irvine dribbling

SRJC 58, Laney College 52

 

            The Bear Cubs were supposed to host the Caren Franci Crossover November 12-13, playing Laney College on the 12th and City College of San Francisco on the 13th. However, due to the unhealthy air quality in the North Bay, the campus was closed. Coach Derek Lau of CCSF agreed to host the two games scheduled for the first day on the 13th, while canceling the two second day games. After CCSF defeated Feather River College, 80-72, in the opening game, the Bear Cubs (2-1) took on the Eagles (0-0) of Laney College. Both teams got off to a shaky, sloppy start. The Bear Cubs committed four turnovers and missed three shots before Jasmine Henderson scored the first two points of the game at the 7:05 mark. Two possessions later Maiya Flores swished a 3-pointer. The next time down Cammie Barsuglia completed a 3-point play on a drive to the left side of the basket for an 8-0 lead with 5:17 on the clock. After missing shots and turning the ball over eight times, the Eagles scored inside with 4:23 left. Maddie Strom scored the Bear Cubs' final two points of the quarter on a short shot with 2:30 remaining. The Eagles surged in the last 44 seconds of the period with two consecutive scoring drives and a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 10-9.

            The Eagles had the ball to start the second quarter and drew a shooting foul, making one free throw. Then they stole the ball and sank the go-ahead basket. Fourteen seconds later Britta Irvine pulled up just inside the free throw line and hit the shot to tie the score. The Eagles scored a field goal a minute later, and Jasmine Henderson's short shot tied the score again. The Eagles made two free throws and the Bear Cubs one. The Eagles scored inside, and then Maiya Flores dropped in a floater from 7 feet. Flores' 3-pointer with 4:43 on the clock briefly gave the Bear Cubs a 20-18 lead. After the Eagles tied the score at 20, DJ Hayes drew a foul on a drive and made both free throws with 3:46 left. The Eagles tied the score with two free throws of their own at the 1:32 mark. Lizeth Zavala passed to Lilly Orozco in the middle of the key, and she banked in the shot. Following the Eagles sinking one of two free throws, Cammie Barsuglia found Lizeth Zavala open on the right wing, and she sank the 16-footer with 47 seconds to go. With six seconds remaining, one of the Eagles' guards crashed the offensive boards and banked in the putback while getting fouled. She missed the game-tying free throw to leave the Bear Cubs hanging onto a 26-25 halftime lead.

            Monae Seals swished three deep 3-pointers in a row for the Eagles to start the third quarter. Meanwhile Britta Irvine and Shayla Newman made consecutive field goals for the Bear Cubs. Then Bailey Craig sank a 3-pointer for the Eagles for a 37-30 lead with 7:47 on the clock. Maiya Flores broke the drought with a field goal at the 5:08 mark. Two possessions later Flores swished a 3-pointer and Jasmine Henderson followed with a layup to tie the score at 37 with 4:03 left. After the Eagles regained the lead 41-39, Cammie Barsuglia made one free throw, Lizeth Zavala a baseline 10-footer, and Barsuglia an 8-footer. The Eagles finished with a 3-footer with 20 seconds left to end the period behind 43-44.

            Shayla Newman started the scoring for the Bear Cubs in the fourth quarter on a putback with 8:10 on the clock. She scored on a drive the next time down, and Maddie Strom sank a 10-footer from the right side at the 7:12 mark to stretch the lead to 50-45. Britta Irvine's basket with 5:22 left made the lead 52-46. The Eagles scored the next five points on a field goal and three out of four free throws to close the gap to 51-52 with 2:15 left. Maiya Flores' 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining gave the Bear Cubs a little breathing room at 55-51. The Eagles drew a foul with 55 seconds to go and made the first but not the second free throw. The Bear Cubs missed their next shot, but so did the Eagles. Maiya Flores was fouled to stop the clock at 0:22. She made the first free throw but missed the second one. The Eagles missed their next shot, Jasmine Henderson grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0:06 on the clock. She made both free throws. The Eagles called a timeout and advanced the ball to their front court. They were unable to score, resulting in a final score of 58-52 in favor of the Bear Cubs.

            Neither team shot well. The Eagles were 18 for 61 (26%) from the field and only 11 for 25 (44%) from the free throw line. The Bear Cubs made 33% of their shots from the field (23 out of 69) and 62% (8 out of 13) from the line.

            Maiya Flores, who sank four 3-pointers, led all scorers with 17 points. Jasmine Henderson and Britta Irvine each added 8 points, Cammie Barsuglia and Shayla Newman 6 each, Maddie Strom 5, Lizeth Zavala 4, and Lilly Orozco and DJ Hayes 2 each. Britta Irvine was the top rebounder with 7. Cammie Barsuglia led in assists with 5 and Shayla Newman in steals with 4.