SRJC 63, San Joaquin Delta College 76
The Bear Cubs (4-5) opened Big 8 Conference play at home hosting the Mustangs of San Joaquin Delta College (9-3). The Mustangs started the scoring with a 3-pointer after nearly two minutes of play. The Bear Cubs scored 23 seconds later when Shayla Newman passed to a cutting Maiya Flores for a layup. The Mustangs scored on a drive followed by a 3-pointer on their next two possessions for an 8-2 lead with 6:21 on the clock. Maddie Strom drew a shooting foul 25 seconds afterwards and made both free throws. When Shayla Newman scored on a drive at the 5:26 mark, it made the deficit 6-10. After Britta Irvine scored on a drive over two minutes later, the score was 8-19. Irvine scored the Bear Cubs' last points of the quarter on a 12-footer with 1:01 left. The Mustangs put in two more field goals to stretch their lead to 29-10 by the end of the quarter.
Maiya Flores' 3-pointer added points to the Bear Cubs' side of the scoreboard first. The Mustangs scored inside about a minute later. The Bear Cubs tallied the next six points on a free throw by Shayla Newman, and a step-back 15-footer then a 3-pointer by Flores to close the gap to 19-31 after four minutes of second quarter play. The Mustangs scored on a drive, and Maiya Flores answered with a field goal on a quick cut to the hoop. After the Mustangs drained a 3-pointer, Cammie Barsuglia did the same. Shayla Newman's putback with 3:20 on the clock made the score 26-36. The Mustangs put in six more points before Maddie Strom's two free throws with 47 seconds left. The Mustangs finished the scoring with a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to go into halftime with a 45-28 lead.
The Mustangs scored on a drive, and then so did Shayla Newman. The Mustangs scored inside again, and then Maiya Flores hit a deep 3-pointer. Britta Irvine's 3-pointer at the 4:55 mark made the score 36-55. Five possessions later Britta Irvine sank a 15-footer, and two trips after that Jasmine Henderson drove to the hoop and was knocked to the ground as the ball went through the basket. She was unable to sink the free throw, leaving the score at 40-58 with 2:45 left. During the remainder of the period Flores scored on a drive and sank another 3-pointer, while the Mustangs made two field goals and two free throws to put their lead at 64-45.
Britta Irvine's 3-pointer started the scoring in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs countered with a field goal followed by two free throws. Shayla Newman drew a shooting foul with 8:17 on the clock and made one free throw. The Mustangs swished a 3-pointer at the 6:52 mark. Newman was fouled again 18 seconds later and made only the first free throw. Britta Irvine's shot with her toe on the 3-point line fell through the net with 4:59 left, making the difference 52-71. The Mustangs added the next four points on a pair of free throws and a field goal with 3:58 left. Sixty-eight seconds afterward, Newman drew another shooting foul and this time made both free throws. With 2:31 remaining DJ Hayes drove to the basket and was fouled. She made both free throws. Their next time down Hayes drove in and scored. The Mustangs drew a foul with 46 seconds to go and made one free throw to get to 76-58. Sixteen seconds later Hayes drew another shooting foul and made both free throws. With five seconds to go, Hayes capped off her scoring streak with a 3-pointer. The Bear Cubs may have outscored the visitors by six points in the quarter, but they still went down in defeat 63-76.
The Mustangs started off the game hot, only missing three shots in the first quarter as they made five 3-pointers and scored on four drives (9 out of 12 for 75%). The Bear Cubs, on the other hand, were cold as they only made 4 out of 14 shots (29%). The remaining three quarters the Mustangs made 16 out of 45 (36%) while the Bear Cubs also sank 36% of their shots (17 out of 47). Three Mustangs scored in double figures led by Paiton Demps with 22.
Three Bear Cubs scored in double digits, Maiya Flores with 20, Britta Irvine with a season-high 14, and Shayla Newman with 11. DJ Hayes recorded a season-high 9 points. Maddie Strom added 4 points, Cammie Barsuglia 3, and Jasmine Henderson, who missed the last three games with a nagging injury, tallied 2 points. Britta Irvine was the top rebounder with 9. Shayla Newman pulled down 8 missed shots, 7 on the offensive end. Cammie Barsuglia and Maddie Strom each passed for 3 assists.