SRJC 60, Lassen College 50
To open their 2024-25 season, the Bear Cubs traveled to Eureka for the first time to participate in the College of the Redwoods 4-team Crossover Tournament against Lassen College followed by the hosts facing Napa Valley College. The Bear Cubs scored the first four points of the contest on Sydney Martin's low post move and Ivy Gonzalez's 8-foot fall-away shot. Jazmyn Wright's 3-pointer at the 7:33 mark got the Cougars on the scoreboard. The Bear Cubs answered with an 8-0 run comprised of Martin's fast break basket off of Kaia Eubanks' assist, Cece Solano's low post basket off of Gonzalez's pass, Gonzalez's drive, and Eubanks' putback with 4:28 on the clock. Thirty-six seconds later Miliani Crosno's field goal made the Cougars' deficit 5-12. During the remainder of the quarter, Sierra Fulton scored the Cougars' final two points on a 3-footer with nearly two minutes left. Meanwhile the Bear Cubs added 8 points on two free throws by Gonzalez, Abigail Tacla's 20-footer, Solano's fast break layup off of Hailey Webb's assist, and Lindsey Arellano's drive for a 20-7 advantage.
The Bear Cubs started the scoring in the second quarter with four points on Kaia Eubanks' 1-footer off of Ivy Gonzalez's assist, and Gonzalez's steal and layup to increase their lead to 24-7 after just over three minutes of play. The Cougars scored six unanswered points before Betzie Hernandez drained a baseline 3-pointer with 3:11 on the clock. Twenty-two seconds later Eubanks went to the free throw line and made one to get to 28 points. The Cougars added a pair of free throws and a field goal cutting the Bear Cubs' lead to 28-17 by halftime.
The Bear Cubs began the third quarter with six points in the first two minutes on one free throw by Sydney Martin, Ivy Gonzalez's 3-point play on a putback, and one free throw each by Martin and Gonzalez to widen their lead to 34-17. The Cougars put together an 8-0 run on two 3-pointers and a field goal before Lindsey Arellano's scoring drive at the 3:20 mark. In the final 3:20, the Cougars made four free throws, a 3-pointer, and a field goal, while the Bear Cubs scored on Lindsey Arellano's drive, Ivy Gonzalez's 1-footer off of Arellano's assist, Martin's fast break layup at the end of Arellano's long pass, two out of four free throws by Martin, and one out of two by Arellano, making the score 43-34.
The Bear Cubs sank three field goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter—Kaia Eubanks' steal and layup, Ivy Gonzalez's fall-away 5-footer, and Eubanks's fast break layup off of Abigail Tacla's assist. The Cougars surged back with 12 unanswered points on three field goals and two 3-pointers to close the gap to 46-49 at the 3:52 mark. Eubanks drew a foul 11 seconds later and sank both free throws. Nadi Velazquez hit her second 3-pointer of the period with 3:29 on the clock trimming the Bear Cubs' lead to 51-49. One free throw by Lindsey Arellano made it 52-49 when the Lassen coach called a timeout with 3:18 left. Jazmyn Wright drew a shooting foul 22 seconds later and made just the first free throw to get the Cougars to 50-52. When the Lassen coach called another timeout with 1:56 left, the score was 56-50 thanks to Arellano's steal and layup and Gonzalez's one-footer off of Eubanks' assist. Eubanks scored the final four points of the game on a steal and layup, and a pair of free throws, as the Bear Cubs won by a score of 60-50.
During the first quarter, the Bear Cubs made 9 out of 20 shots (45%) and both free throws to jump out in front 20-7. During the remaining three quarters, the Cougars outscored the Bear Cubs 43-40. The Bear Cubs' defense came up with three steals in the final three minutes of the contest to ensure their victory. Two Cougars scored in double figures—Nadi Velazquez with 16 points and Sequoia Harjo with 10.
Ivy Gonzalez led the Bear Cubs with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kaia Eubanks scored 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Sydney Martin also reached double figures with 10 points. Lindsey Arellano added 8 points, Cece Solano 4, Betzie Hernandez 3, and Abigail Tacla 2. Kaia Eubanks made 5 out of 6 free throws and 6 steals. Hailey Webb made 4 steals. Lindsey Arellano led in assists with 3.