Women's Basketball: Bear Cubs fall on the road, finish in 5th

#3 Maiya Flores driving

SRJC 54, Folsom Lake College 66

             The Bear Cubs (11-13, 7-8) suffered through a 3.5 hour drive on the 123 mile trip to face the Falcons (10-15, 5-10) of Folsom Lake College. The Bear Cubs got off to a sluggish start while the Falcons raced out to a 9-3 lead, as only Maiya Flores' 3-pointer dropped through during the opening four minutes. With 5:15 on the clock, Jasmine Henderson caught Cammie Barsuglia's long pass and sank the fast break layup. The Falcons hit a 3-pointer with 2:50 left and a field goal 31 seconds later to widen their lead to 14-5. The Bear Cubs finished the quarter with 8 unanswered points on Flores' layup, her 3-point play, and Shayla Newman's driving 3-point play at the buzzer to close the gap to 13-14.

            Maiya Flores spotted Lilly Orozco open near the basket and made the assist pass to her seconds into second quarter. The Falcons retook the lead with a field goal on their first possession and followed it with a 3-pointer before Maiya Flores' 3-pointer with 8:00 on the clock. The Falcons scored the next four points on a field goal and a pair of free throws at the 7:10 mark to stretch their lead to 23-18. The Bear Cubs made 5 out of their next 6 shots—3 field goals and one 3-pointer by Flores and two driving layups by Jasmine Henderson, the second a 3-point play—to vault into the lead 32-25 with 2:58 left. During the remainder of the period, the Bear Cubs made 2 out of 9 shots—Henderson's layup and DJ Hayes' putback—and one free throw by Maddie Strom to take a 37-25 lead into halftime.

            The Falcons drained three 3-pointers in the first 3:22 of the third quarter, while the Bear Cubs only put in 4 free throws, 2 each by Shayla Newman and Jasmine Henderson. Newman's putback with 5:32 on the clock accounted for the Bear Cubs' first field goal of the quarter. By the time Henderson's drive got the Bear Cubs to 45 with 3:24 left, the Falcons had 38 points. The home team finished the period with an 8-0 run to go back in front 46-45.

            Maiya Flores scored first in the fourth quarter when she caught the long baseline inbounds pass from Britta Irvine while beyond the arc and swishing the deep shot with 9:08 on the clock. The Falcons put together 8 unanswered points on a 3-point play, two free throws, and a 3-pointer to expand their lead to 54-48 with 6:17 left. Maiya Flores scored on a drive at the 5:58 mark. The Falcons added a field goal and a 3-pointer before Jasmine Henderson was successful on a drive with 2:46 left. The Falcons answered with a 3-pointer to get to 62-52 with 2:26 remaining. Shayla Newman drew a shooting foul with 1:01 to go and made one free throw. The Falcons banked in an open layup 12 seconds later, as the Bear Cubs were trying to double-team the ball. With 42 seconds left Maiya Flores drew a foul on a drive and made just the second free throw. The Falcons put in one more layup to complete the scoring in their 66-54 victory.

            During the second quarter the Bear Cubs outscored their hosts 24-11 by driving and shooting with confidence while getting stops on defense and forcing 9 Folsom Lake turnovers. In the second half, the Falcons made adjustments on both ends of the floor and six different players scored a field goal or a 3-pointer as they outscored the Bear Cubs 41-17. Meanwhile the Bear Cubs turned the ball over 10 times and only Maiya Flores, Jasmine Henderson, and Shayla Newman were able to put points on the scoreboard.

            Maiya Flores, who sank the Bear Cubs' only 4 3-pointers, finished with a season-high 26 points. Jasmine Henderson made 6 out of 9 field goal attempts and all 3 of her free throws to total 15 points. Shayla Newman contributed 8 points and led with 7 rebounds. DJ Hayes and Lilly Orozco added 2 points each, and Maddie Strom 1. Maiya Flores and Cammie Barsuglia both had 3 assists and 3 steals each. Shayla Newman blocked 4 shots and Cammie Barsuglia 3.