SRJC 67, Folsom Lake College 38
For their Big 8 Conference opener the Bear Cubs (11-1) traveled to Folsom Lake College to take on the Falcons (10-2). Lucca Lowenberg started the scoring with a 3-pointer 79 seconds into the contest. Daily Applegarth then made a field goal for the hosts. Ashleigh Barr got open near the hoop and caught Meredith Gilbertson's assist pass. Over a minute later Applegarth made another field goal and Lowenberg another 3-pointer. Megan Williams' basket with 6:23 on the clock cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 8-6. During the next five minutes, the Bear Cubs went on an 11-0 run, which included one putback each by Sheriene Arikat and Rose Nevin, one free throw by Ashleigh Barr, Arikat's back cut and assist from Barr, Arikat's 12-footer, and Barr's 7-footer for a 19-6 advantage. Emily Ko swished a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to get her team to 9-19 by the end of the quarter.
The Falcons scored two field goals before Sheriene Arikat made one out of two free throws at the 7:10 mark. About a minute later Ashleigh Briggs drained a Falcon 3-pointer. Eighteen seconds after that Sheriene Arikat hit a baseline 3-pointer. With 4:56 left on the clock Lucca Lowenberg sank her third 3-pointer. Briggs soon followed with her second 3-pointer, making the Bear Cubs' lead 26-19. The Bear Cubs scored the next six points on two putbacks by Rose Nevin and two free throws by Ciarah Michalik. Jada Holmes' 3-pointer with 27 seconds left got the Falcons to 22 points. With five seconds to go Ashleigh Barr sank a 7-footer off of Ciarah Michalik's assist to give the Bear Cubs a 34-22 lead going into halftime.
The Bear Cubs scored the first seven points in the third quarter on Ashleigh Barr's 1-footer off of Meredith Gilbertson's assist, Lucca Lowenberg's 3-pointer, and Ciarah Michalik's steal and layup. Daily Applegarth's 3-pointer with 8:17 on the clock got the Falcons' scoring started. Ashleigh Barr banked in a 2-footer off of Lowenberg's assist 15 seconds later. Megan Williams went to the free throw line at the 6:59 mark and made both free throws. The Bear Cubs scored eight unanswered points on Lowenberg's 3-pointer, her 1-footer on a baseline inbounds play and assist from Lanie Lincoln, and Sheriene Arikat's 3-point play on a cut to the hoop. Eva Graf made one free throw with 1:57 left to get her team to 28-51. Alex Ditizio hit a 3-footer off of Meredith Gilbertson's offensive rebound and assist pass, and Ashleigh Barr sank a 2-footer off of Lanie Lincoln's assist with 24 seconds left to put the score at 55-28. Jessica Huffhines drained a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to make her team's deficit 31-55 at the end of the quarter.
Ashleigh Barr's 3-point play on a nice low post spin move started the scoring in the fourth quarter. Nearly a minute later Lucca Lowenberg swished her sixth 3-pointer. With 6:27 on the clock Sheriene Arikat drained a 15-footer off a crosscourt assist pass from Ciarah Michalik. Twenty-seven seconds later, Lowenberg cut and sank a 6-footer off of Ashleigh Barr's assist to widen the lead to 65-31. Huffhines tallied the Falcons' first field goal of the period at the 4:55 mark. Briggs scored a 2-pointer with 3:12 left, and less than a minute later Reya Lee swished a 3-pointer to get her team to 38. With 36 seconds remaining, Lanie Lincoln drove from the wing, slowed in front of a defender, spun around, and tossed in the 8-footer to complete the scoring in the Bear Cubs' 67-38 win.
The Bear Cubs made 53% of their shots in the first and third quarters and ended up shooting 43.5% (27 out of 62) for the game. The Falcons came into the game averaging 71.4 points per game. The Bear Cubs did not press their opponents, but their half court man-to-man pressure forced the Falcons to struggle on offense, as they only made 14 out of 51 shots (27.5%). Daily Applegarth led the Falcons in scoring with 9 points.
Lucca Lowenberg continued her hot 3-point shooting, as she made 6 out of 8 (75%) from beyond the arc and totaled 22 points. Ashleigh Barr missed a double-double by one rebound, scoring 16 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Sheriene Arikat played effectively on both ends of the court and made 6 out of 8 shot and 2 out of 3 free throws to finish with a season-high 15 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Rose Nevin also grabbed 7 rebounds, 4 of them offensive, and scored 6 points. Ciarah Michalik added 4 points and 7 rebounds. Alex Ditizio and Lanie Lincoln scored 2 points each. Ciarah Michalik led in assists with 7. Ashleigh Barr blocked a season-high 5 shots.