SRJC 58, Sierra College 73
Tuesday night the Bear Cubs (9-14, 4-7) hosted the #4 ranked team in the North, the Wolverines of Sierra College (18-6, 8-3), who defeated #2 Diablo Valley College on Friday. The Bear Cubs got on the scoreboard first when Lani Lincoln pushed the ball and passed ahead to a sprinting Trinity Hawkins, who caught the pass in stride and made the layup with 7:50 on the clock. The Wolverines hit a 3-pointer 45 seconds later, and then followed it with another and a field goal at the 5:57 mark for an 8-2 lead. The Bear Cubs scored the next 9 points on two free throws by Hawkins, Lincoln's 3-pointer, Marlana Sawyer's 12-footer, and Kassi Agapoff's reverse layup to take an 11-8 lead with 2:10 left. The Wolverines' Jenna Duley sank a field goal with 33.7 seconds remaining, cutting their deficit to 10-11 by the end of the quarter.
Duley made two consecutive field goals to start the second quarter. Trinity Hawkins took the Bear Cubs' first shot at the 8:24 mark and sank the 10-footer. The Wolverines responded with two 3-pointers and a field goal for a 22-13 lead with 6:41 on the clock. Sixteen seconds later Kassi Agapoff scored on a drive. Then the Wolverines added a field goal and one free throw before Trinity Hawkins' putback made the score 17-25. During the remainder of the period, the Wolverines tallied seven more points. The Bear Cubs added six points on Lani Lincoln's steal near the Sierra basket and full-court driving layup, Agapoff's grabbing of a long offensive rebound and drive, and Lincoln's driving floater from five feet. By halftime the Wolverines were ahead 32-23.
The Wolverines started the third quarter with a 7-0 run before Trinity Hawkins' putback at the 8:15 mark, which was quickly followed by Lizbeth Zavala's steal and layup. The Wolverines added three more points during the next three minutes. Kierra Johnson scored her first field goal of the game on a layup after catching the press-breaking pass from Lani Lincoln with 4:30 on the clock to get to 29-42. Hawkins put in the Bear Cubs' next five points on one free throw, a drive, and a pull-up 12-foot jumper, while the Wolverines made three field goals and a pair of free throws to make their lead 50-34 with 2:32 left. The Bear Cubs scored 8 unanswered points on Amaya Macandog's 3-pointer, Hanna Morris' 12-footer, and Trinity Hawkins' 3-point play with 1:23 remaining. The Wolverines sank two free throws to complete the scoring in the quarter with them in front 52-42.
Jenna Duley took the Wolverines first shot of the fourth quarter and sank the deep 3-pointer. Kierra Johnson swished a shot from the high post, and then the Wolverines went on a 6-0 run. With just under eight minutes on the clock, Kierra Johnson caught the baseline inbounds pass at the free throw line and drove around defenders to score the layup. The Bear Cubs scored again 49 seconds later when Lani Lincoln pulled down a defensive rebound five feet from their basket, drove all the way down, spun around a defender six feet from the basket, and dropped in the shot. The Wolverines countered with two field goals before Amaya Macandog hit a 14-footer. During the final four minutes of the game, the Wolverines made two field goals and one free throw. The Bear Cubs put in 8 more points on Johnson's putback, Hawkins' two free throws, Macandog's 3-pointer, and Hanna Morris' one free throw, making the final score 58-73.
Turnovers and rushed shots, attributable to the Wolverines' defensive pressure, plagued the Bear Cubs' offensive efforts. The Wolverines turned four of the Bear Cubs' 24 turnovers into scoring layups. The Bear Cubs made just 3 out of 12 (25%) shots from beyond the arc, while the Wolverines sank 8 out of 18 (44%) of theirs. This was a game of scoring runs. Unfortunately for the Bear Cubs, their opponents put together more of them. Four Wolverines scored in double figures: Jenna Duley 19, Skyy Jackson 15, Kailee McCarrick 13, and Amara Allen 10.
Only Trinity Hawkins scored in double figures for the Bear Cubs, as she made 7 out of 15 shots and 6 out of 7 free throws for 20 points. She led the team with 10 rebounds, making this her ninth double-double of the season. Lani Lincoln contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Amaya Macandog and Kierra Johnson each scored 8 points, Kassi Agapoff 6, Hanna Morris 3, and Lizbeth Zavala and Marlana Sawyer 2 each.