SRJC 72, Laney College 67
The Bear Cubs (0-1) faced the Eagles (1-0) of Laney College in the opening round of the 6-team North-South Shootout hosted by Merced College. The Bear Cubs got off to a shaky start, turning the ball over each of their first four possessions before Lizeth Zavala's field goal at the 7:55 mark went in almost immediately following an Eagles 3-pointer. The Eagles scored the next five points on a 3-pointer and a field goal for an 8-2 lead with 6:28 on the clock. The Bear Cubs put together an 8-0 run, which included a field goal and two out of four free throws by Ashleigh Barr, and consecutive baskets by Trinity Hawkins and Ciarah Michalik. The Eagles scored four unanswered points to re-take the lead. Kierra Johnson's set shot from the free throw line on a baseline inbounds play with 1:01 left still left the Bear Cubs behind 14-16. The Eagles swished a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining for a 19-14 lead as the quarter ended.
Ciarah Michalik scored the first point of the second quarter when she made one of two free throws on the Bear Cubs' first possession. The Eagles added a field goal and Kierra Johnson sank her two free throws. Trinity Hawkins' 3-pointer over 90 seconds later got the Bear Cubs to 20-21. But the Eagles answered with a 3-pointer. Hanna Morris banked in a1-footer on a baseline inbounds play with 5:48 on the clock to make the score 22-24. And again the Eagles responded with a 3-pointer. Nearly two minutes later, Hannah Webb swished the Bear Cubs' second 3-pointer of the contest. During the final three minutes of the period, the Eagles added two free throws, while Ashleigh Barr made one free throw and Trinity Hawkins scored on a drive, as the Eagles took a 32-28 lead into halftime.
Within the first 60 seconds of the third quarter the Bear Cubs tied the score at 32 on Trinity Hawkins' baseline inbounds basket and Kierra Johnson sprinting the floor and banking in the fast break layup after catching the assist pass from Tal Webb. The Eagles sank a 3-pointer, Trinity Hawkins cut to the hoop and caught Ciarah Michalik's assist pass, and the Eagles hit another 3-pointer for a 38-34 lead with 7:40 on the clock. The Bear Cubs again went on an 8-0 run, including one field goal each by Hawkins and Lizeth Zavala, and two by Ashleigh Barr, to go in front 42-38 at the 4:50 mark. During the remainder of the quarter, the Eagles scored a field goal, Tal Webb made one, followed by Ciarah Michalik's scoring drive, the Eagles sank a 12-footer, Hanna Morris put back an offensive rebound, the Eagles swished a 3-pointer, and Trinity Hawkins scored on a drive to leave the Bear Cubs holding onto a 50-47 as the buzzer sounded.
The Eagles started the scoring in the fourth quarter with two free throws on their first possession. The Bear Cubs made their first four shots of the quarter—a 2-footer by Trinity Hawkins, a high post shot by Kierra Johnson, Ciarah Michalik's 3-pointer, and Hawkins' pull-up jumper—while the Eagles scored five points. The Bear Cubs' lead was 59-54 at the 7:20 mark. Following a 3-pointer by the Eagles, Ashleigh Barr scored on a baseline inbounds play, and Lizeth Zavala hit a short shot. An Eagles' 3-pointer and two free throws pulled them within a point, 62-63, with 4:56 on the clock. Ciarah Michalik intercepted a pass near the Eagles' 3-point line and drove the length of the court to score the layup. On their next possession, Kierra Johnson caught a pass from Tal Webb near the basket and sank the 1-footer to increase the lead to 67-62. Four free throws by the Eagles in the next minute got them back within a point, 66-67. Seventeen seconds later Lizbeth Zavala scored what proved to be the final field goal of the contest when she made a sharp backcut, caught the assist pass from Ciarah Michalik, and dropped in the layup for a 69-66 lead. The Eagles scored their last point of the game on one of two free throws with 1:23 remaining. Both teams missed the rest of their field goal attempts. With the Bear Cubs in front, the Eagles were forced to foul. Ashleigh Barr made the first free throw with 11 seconds to go. She missed the second, but Trinity Hawkins hustled in, grabbed the offensive rebound and dribbled out of traffic. She passed to Ciarah Michalik, who was fouled. Michalik made both free throws with 6 seconds left. The Eagles attempted one last 3-pointer, which fell short, as the Bear Cubs posted a 72-67 win.
The Eagles made 11 3-pointers and 16 out of 17 free throws. The Bear Cubs only made 3 3-pointers out of 10 attempts, and were only successful on 11 out of 23 free throws.
Trinity Hawkins led the Bear Cubs with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ciarah Michalik also posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 assists, including 5 on inbounds plays. Ashleigh Barr and Kierra Johnson also scored in double figures, with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Lizeth Zavala added 6 points, Hanna Morris 4, Hannah Webb and Tal Webb 3 each, Lizbeth Zavala 2, and Alex Ditizio 1. Tal Webb, who picked up 3 fouls in the first quarter before fouling out with 3:45 in the game, still grabbed 5 rebounds and passed for 5 assists. Ciarah Michalik's 11 assists is the third highest single game total in Bear Cubs' history.