SRJC 74, College of the Redwoods 69 in Overtime
The Bear Cubs (1-0) played the host Corsairs (1-0) in the final game of the College of the Redwoods Crossover Tournament. The Bear Cubs scored the first four points on Kaia Eubanks' baseline drive and Ivy Gonzalez's putback. Aniah Gaither tallied the Corsairs' first two points on a low post basket at the 7:40 mark. Another putback by Gonzalez was followed by Moriah Bowles' 3-pointer and Kimberly Lewis' field goal for a 7-6 Corsair lead with 4:51 on the clock. During the next four minutes, the Corsairs added six points, while the Bear Cubs scored 10 on Cece Solano's 15-footer, Gonzalez's 3-point play, her 12-footer, her third putback, and her 10-footer. Two free throws by Alia Prentiss with 22 seconds left cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 17-15 by the end of the quarter.
The Bear Cubs stretched their margin to 22-15 on Ivy Gonzalez's 3-point play and Kaia Eubanks' 12-footer. Caidence Young swished her second 3-pointer of the game at the 8:10 mark. Then the Bear Cubs scored 10 unanswered points on Eubanks' 20-footer, Sydney Martin's 3-point play, Cece Solano's putback, and Betzie Hernandez's 3-pointer to jump out to a 32-18 advantage with 5:22 on the clock. Young drained two more 3-pointers before Solano's 15-footer with 4:40 left. The Corsairs made two more field goals in the quarter. Eubanks made one free throw and Gonzalez dropped in a 4-foot turnaround fade-away shot at the buzzer for a 40-34 halftime lead.
After just 70 seconds of third quarter play, the Corsairs cut their deficit to 39-40 on a pair of free throws by Alia Prentiss and Moriah Bowles' 3-pointer. Back-to-back 1-footers by Kaia Eubanks and Ivy Gonzalez got the lead up to 44-39 at the 7:58 mark. Aniah Gaither made one of two free throws 25 seconds later. Gonzalez tallied the next five points on a pair of 1-footers and one of two free throws for a 49-40 margin. Gaither scored a putback 33 seconds later. Hailey Webb drained a 3-pointer, and then so did Caidence Young. Eubanks put in the Bear Cubs' last three points of the period on one of two free throws and a 2-footer on a baseline inbounds pass from Hailey Webb. Prentiss tallied five points on a 3-point play and a field goal, getting her team to 50-55 by the end of the quarter.
Caidence Young sank a 3-pointer 38 seconds into the fourth quarter. Nearly a minute later Cece Solano scored on a low post move. Aniah Gaither banked in a close shot, and then Lindsey Arellano hit a 20-footer. The Corsairs made three unanswered field goals to go out in front 61-59 at the 4:10 mark. Within twenty seconds Ivy Gonzalez drained a 3-pointer. After a Redwoods' miss, Shasta Vlasak drew a foul, and with the Corsairs over the foul limit, she went to the free throw line to shoot two. She missed the first but made the second for a 63-61 lead with 3:37 on the clock. The Corsairs got back ahead 65-63 with a low post basket by Gaither and two free throws by Kyla Albee at the 3-minute mark. Eleven seconds later, Arellano drew a foul and made one of two free throws. Both team missed their next shots. With 10 seconds left, Sydney Martin got hit in the face while attempting a shot. She sank the first free throw, tying the score at 65. She missed the second. The Corsairs rebounded and called a timeout. The Bear Cub defense was able to send the game into overtime with the score tied 65-65.
Both teams started the 5-minute overtime period missing shots until Caidence Young drained her seventh 3-pointer of the contest at the 3:22 mark. Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer 58 seconds later tied the score. Following a Corsairs' miss, Gonzalez converted a 3-point play on a cut to the basket and assist from Abigail Tacla. Kaia Eubanks' 1-footer off of Lindsey Arellano's assist from above the free throw line put the Bear Cubs ahead 73-68 with 52 seconds left. Five seconds later Kyla Abee drew a shooting foul. She made just the first free throw. With 14 seconds remaining, Eubanks drew a foul. She made the first free throw, but missed the second. The Corsairs rebounded and called their final timeout. Before the ball could be inbounded a Corsair committed an offensive foul. The Bear Cubs tried to run out the clock, but they were called for a bad screen. The Corsairs were unable to score, so the Bear Cubs were able to claim the 74-69 victory.
This was a hard-fought contest, and although the Bear Cubs were ahead for most of the game, their lead never felt safe. The Corsairs' post play, driving, and 3-point shooting enabled them to overtake their opponents in the latter part of the fourth quarter. A Bear Cub free throw and their defense sent the game into overtime. During the 5-minute OT period, the Bear Cubs' defense held the Corsairs to 4 points, while on offense, following Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer, the guards got the ball to the posts close to the hoop for 1-footers. Three Corsairs reached double figures. Caidence Young sank seven 3-pointers and totaled 21 points. Alia Prentiss scored 16 and post player Aniah Gaither 11.
Ivy Gonzalez, who scored 13 of the Bear Cubs' 17 points in the first quarter, finished with a career-high 34 points. Kaia Eubanks had her first double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Cece Solano added 8 points and Sydney Martin 7. Three players each contributed 3 points—Lindsey Arellano, Hailey Webb, and Betzie Hernandez—while Shasta Vlasak made one free throw. Ivy Gonzalez grabbed 7 rebounds. Lindsey Arellano passed for 4 assists and made 3 steals.