SRJC 52, American River College 50

             For their final Big 8 home game the Bear Cubs (9-15, 4-8) hosted the Beavers of American River College (11-13, 3-9). It took nearly two minutes for the Bear Cubs to get on the scoreboard first thanks to Trinity Hawkins 5-footer. In the next 38 seconds Lizbeth Zavala hit a baseline 10-footer, and Hawkins dropped in a 3-footer for a 6-0 lead. The Beavers made their first point on a free throw with 6:40 on the clock, and then sank a field goal at the 4:09 mark to cut the Bear Cubs' lead in half. The Bear Cubs scored the next six points on two free throws by Lizbeth Zavala, her layup, and Amaya Macandog's two free throws with 44.8 seconds left. The Beavers' Anthonya Sanchez scored with 12.1 seconds remaining to cut their deficit to 5-12 by the end of the quarter.

            Lani Lincoln, who had missed four 3-point attempts in the first quarter, swished the Bear Cubs' first shot attempt of the second period this time from five feet outside the arc. Two possessions later, Kierra Johnson pulled down two offensive rebounds in a row and banked in the second putback attempt to increase the lead to 17-5. The Beavers put together an 8-0 run on two 3-pointers and a field goal with 5:26 on the clock. Less than a minute later, right after Hanna Morris grabbed an offensive rebound, one of the officials called a technical foul on one of the Beavers for something she said. Lincoln sank both free throws. The Bear Cubs inbounded the ball from the sideline, and a few seconds later Lizbeth Zavala passed to Morris, who made the 5-footer from along the baseline. Over a minute after that, the Beavers made a field goal to close to 15-21. During the final three minutes of the quarter, Lani Lincoln sank her second 3-pointer, Shantanice Mendoz converted a 4-point play when she was fouled as she released a 3-pointer and then made the free throw, and Lani Lincoln drained another deep 3-pointer for a 27-19 Bear Cubs' lead by halftime.

            Trinity Hawkins scored the first basket of the third quarter on a layup after a nice assist pass from Kassi Agapoff. The Beavers scored the next four points on one free throw and a 3-pointer. Lani Lincoln dropped in a runner with 7:11 on the clock. Then while on defense, Kassi Agapoff deflected a pass that Trinity Hawkins grabbed and pushed up the floor. Hawkins passed ahead to Agapoff, who passed back to Hawkins for the layup. Just before the midpoint of the quarter, Hawkins' put back her own miss for a 35-23 advantage. The Beavers scored a field goal, and then Kierra Johnson banked in a putback of her own miss. In the remaining three minutes, the Beavers made three field goals and a 3-pointer, while Hawkins scored on a drive and Lani Lincoln swished a 3-pointer from six feet beyond the arc for a 42-34 lead by the end of the quarter.

            Lani Lincoln started the scoring in the fourth quarter with a runner released at the free throw line. Trinity Hawkins' pull-up 10-footer increased the lead to 46-34. Mendoza and Sanchez sank back-to-back 3-pointers before Hawkins sank one of two free throws with 6:38 on the clock. The Beavers made two field goals in 38 seconds to get to 44-47. Lani Lincoln drained her fifth 3-pointer at the 4:23 mark, and two minutes later Hawkins hit a tough 4-footer for a 52-44 lead. Both teams missed their next shots. The Bear Cubs threw a pass that was intercepted and eventually turned into a 3-pointer by Sanchez with 55.3 seconds left. The Beavers capitalized on another Bear Cubs' turnover, and Sanchez again drained a 3-pointer to pull within a basket, 50-52, with 42.4 seconds remaining. The Bear Cubs called a timeout and advanced the ball. Unfortunately, their inbounds pass was stolen. The Beavers missed the tying 2-footer, and Hawkins grabbed the rebound. The Bear Cubs called a timeout with 27 seconds to go and less than that on the shot clock. After inbounding the ball and making a couple of passes, their next one was picked off. The Beavers had an open 10-footer, but it bounced off the rim. Kierra Johnson pulled in the rebound and hung onto the ball as time expired. The Bear Cubs were lucky to come away with the 52-50 win. In the end, the two technical foul free throws Lani Lincoln sank, indeed, made a difference in the outcome of the game.

            Even though the Beavers only applied full-court pressure during the final four minutes of the game, the Bear Cubs still committed 26 turnovers, including 7 in the fourth quarter. The Beavers were only whistled for 4 fouls, but the Bear Cubs made 7 out of 8 free throws. The Bear Cubs committed 9 fouls, and the Beavers made 3 out of 6 free throws. The visitors sank 9 3-pointers, and the Bear Cubs 5—all 5 by Lani Lincoln. Each of the American River players scored, with Anthonya Sanchez leading her team with 18 points.

            Lani Lincoln led the Bear Cubs in both scoring and rebounding, as she recorded her second double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Trinity Hawkins' 17 points and 11 rebounds composed her 10th double-double. Lizbeth Zavala contributed 6 points and 4 blocks. Kierra Johnson scored 4 points but grabbed 11 rebounds. Amaya Macandog and Hanna Morris each added 2 points. Kassi Agapoff didn't score, but she passed for 5 assists and made 2 steals.