SRJC 73, College of San Mateo 63
The Bear Cubs (10-7-1), ranked #11 in the State, traveled south to take on the College of San Mateo Bulldogs (13-2), #9 in the State, in a nonconference contest. The Bulldogs won the tip and Tiare Novero-Paaga proceeded to drain a shot from beyond the arc. On the Bear Cubs' first possession, Trinity Hawkins scored on a drive. The Bear Cubs made their next four shots in a row—Kierra Johnson's 1-footer, Tal Webb's 18-footer, Johnson's 6-footer, and Ciarah Michalik's 2-footer—for a 10-7 lead at the 7:05 mark. The Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run before Johnson drew a shooting foul and made both free throws with 2:49 on the clock. The Bear Cubs tied the score at 16 on Kierra Johnson's give-and-go basket with Ashleigh Barr and Hannah Webb's two free throws. Neither team scored again in the remaining 2:04 of the quarter.
Tal Webb was the first to score in the second quarter when she hit a 12-foot pull-up jumper. The Bulldogs made the next four points on one free throw and a 3-pointer. Thirteen seconds later Lizeth Zavala sank her own 3-pointer. After Trinity Hawkins banked in a 5-footer, a Bulldogs' post player scored inside. Kierra Johnson sank a 16-footer, then Trinity Hawkins intercepted a pass just below the Bulldogs' free throw line and beat the chasers down the court to make the layup with 6:10 on the clock for a 27-22 lead. During the remainder of the period, the Bulldogs added a field goal by Chiara Brown and three free throws, while Johnson made two field goals and Rose Nevin one free throw, putting the Bear Cubs in front 32-27 by halftime.
The Bulldogs started the third quarter with the ball, and Tiare Novero-Paaga again sank a 3-pointer. Tal Webb hit a 17-footer. Chiara Brown scored on a low post move to get her team to 32-34. Kierra Johnson made two free throws. Fifty seconds later Ashleigh Barr was the trailer on a fast break and caught Tal Webb's assist pass. After Brown scored again inside, Ashleigh Barr put in a 6-footer and a 15-footer for a 42-34 advantage at the 4:35 mark. Following two Bulldogs' free throws, Kierra Johnson banked in a layup on Hannah Webb's assist and scored on a putback. The Bulldogs added a field goal, then Ashleigh Barr hit an 8-footer, Lizeth Zavala completed a spin-then-hook shot, the Bulldogs made one free throw, and with time running out Trinity Hawkins drove down and banked a one-handed over-the-shoulder shot from 6 feet out at the buzzer to end the period with a 52-39 margin.
The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the fourth quarter before Hannah Webb drained a 3-pointer with 7:18 on the clock. The Bulldogs countered with a 3-pointer 20 seconds later. Rose Nevin caught Tal Webb's assist in front of the hoop and scored. Chiara Brown made a successful low post move. Ciarah Michalik complete a 3-point play after driving in through traffic. About a minute later Brown scored again. Fifteen seconds after Angellia Lilomaiava's basket, Tal Webb was fouled as she made a shot and sank the and-one free throw for a 63-54 lead at the 3:54 mark. The Bulldogs scored the next four points on a pair of free throws by Lilomaiava and a basket before Ashleigh Barr hit an 8-foot turnaround jumper with 2:58 left. Alani Brenes' 3-pointer from the left side got her team to 61-65 with 1:34 to go. With about a minute to play, Trinity Hawkins made a steal and dribbled down to score the layup. The Bulldogs missed their shots and were forced to foul. Ciarah Michalik went to the free throw twice and made all four shots. Chiara Brown tallied the Bulldogs' final two points on a basket with 17 seconds remaining. Trinity Hawkins was fouled two seconds later and made both free throws to complete the scoring in the Bear Cubs 73-63 win.
The Bear Cubs had a better-than-average shooting night as they made 28 out of 58 shots (48%). In the third quarter, they made 9 out of 15 shots (60%) to increase their lead by 8 points. The Bear Cubs passed for 16 assists, seven of which were made by Tal Webb. The Bulldogs' post player, Chiara Brown, who was nearly unstoppable when she caught the ball inside, led all scorers with 24 points.
Kierra Johnson scored a season-high 20 points on 67% shooting (8 out of 12). Trinity Hawkins and Ashleigh Barr both spent more time than usual on the bench due to foul trouble tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tal Webb and Ciarah Michalik added 9 points each, Lizeth Zavala and Hannah Webb 5 each, and Rose Nevin 3. Ashleigh Barr grabbed 8 rebounds and Kierra Johnson 7. Trinity Hawkins passed for 3 assists and made 4 steals. Johnson blocked 4 shots.