SRJC 47, Folsom Lake College 51
Three days after losing to the Folsom Lake College Falcons (6-14, 2-6) by 8 points at home, the Bear Cubs (13-8, 4-4) were on the road to their gym, empty of spectators. Ashleigh Barr sank an 8-footer on the Bear Cubs' opening possession. The Falcons scored the next five points on a pair of free throws and a Jasmine Hess 3-pointer. Kierra Johnson caught the pass from Trinity Hawkins at the free throw line and made the shot from there. Seventy seconds later Delaney Keddie swished a 3-pointer. Lizeth Zavala launched a shot from beyond the arc that bounced off the rim, but she hustled in to track down the rebound and sink the putback at the 6:02 mark, making the score 6-8. Through to the end of the period, the Falcons made two more 3-pointers, while the Bear Cubs missed all nine of their shots, giving the home team a 14-6 lead.
Macie Purbaugh took the Falcons' first shot of the second quarter and made the 3-pointer. Ciarah Michalik did the same for the Bear Cubs. Purbaugh scored the next five points on a field goal and a 3-pointer. Lizeth Zavala dropped in a 5-footer with 6:06 on the clock. Eva Graf's 3-pointer was followed by Ashleigh Barr's 3-point play at the 3:52 mark. Graf and Daily Applegarth each made a field goal to widen the Falcons' lead to 29-14 with 1:49 left. Ashleigh Barr drew a shooting foul 26 seconds later and made both free throws to end the scoring in the half with the Falcons in front 29-16.
Trinity Hawkins' putback started the scoring in the third quarter. About a minute after that Alex Ditizio intercepted a pass and dribbled down to bank in the layup. The next time down Alex Ditizio drew a foul on a shot attempt and made both free throws. With 5:20 on the clock, Kierra Johnson caught the assist pass from Ashleigh Barr next to the hoop. On the Bear Cubs' next possession, Ciarah Michalik was fouled on a drive and made one of two free throws to close the gap to 25-29. Eva Graf's 3-pointer at the 3:29 mark ended the Falcons' scoreless streak. Lizbeth Zavala passed to Johnson in the middle of the key for the Bear Cubs' final basket of the quarter. The Falcons added one free throw, while Trinity Hawkins made two and Michalik one, as the Bear Cubs cut their deficit to 30-33 by the end of the quarter.
The Falcons tallied the first point of the fourth quarter by sinking one of two free throws, and then Hannah Webb scored on a baseline drive. Eva Graf completed a 4-point play after swishing a 3-pointer from above the free throw circle. Megan Williams scored a field goal for the Falcons. Ashleigh Barr's 10-footer was quickly followed by Williams' basket. Hannah Webb's 3-pointer at the 7:04 mark made the score 37-42. The Falcons tallied four unanswered points on pair of free throws and another field goal by Williams with 2:07 left. Trinity Hawkins drew consecutive shooting fouls and made three out of four free throws. Following a Falcons' turnover, Ciarah Michalik swished a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining to put the score at 44-46. The Bear Cubs were whistled for a foul while trying to tie up the ball, and Macie Purbaugh made both free throws. Lizeth Zavala drove in to the key and was fouled on the shot. She made the first free throw but not the second. Again the Bear Cubs fouled. Purbaugh missed the first but made the second free throw. The Bear Cubs called their final timeout and advanced the ball. Alex Ditizio inbounded to Ciarah Michalik, who quickly drained a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left to get to 47-49. The Bear Cubs fouled Delaney Keddie four seconds later when they couldn't get a steal, and she sank just the second free throw. The Bear Cubs had two more shot attempts, but missed them both, so they fouled Daily Applegarth with six seconds remaining. She missed the first but not the second. The Bear Cubs could only get off a shot from half court, which was way off, leaving them with a 47-51 loss.
Poor shooting (6 out of 28 for 21%) and 10 turnovers in the first half put the Bear Cubs in a big hole. They started scoring in the third quarter, which also energized them on defense. They outscored the Falcons 14-4 in the quarter. The Falcons bounced back in the fourth quarter and got enough of a lead to force the Bear Cubs to foul down the stretch. They made 9 out of 13 free throws in the quarter compared to the Bear Cub's 4 out of 6. Three Falcons scored in double figures: Eva Graff with 12, Macie Purbaugh 11, and Delaney Keddie 10.
Ciarah Michalik led the Bear Cubs with 11 points and 5 steals. Ashleigh Barr added 9 points, Trinity Hawkins 7, Kierra Johnson 6, Lizeth Zavala and Hannah Webb 5 each, and Alex Ditizio 4. Kierra Johnson grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. Tal Webb suffered a cut on her forehead when she knocked heads with a Falcon at the 7:06 mark in the first quarter and had go to the hospital to get it stitched together.