SRJC 73, Diablo Valley College 17
After having a Bye on Tuesday, the Bear Cubs (17-4, 7-2) hosted the Diablo Valley College Vikings (1-21, 0-10) Friday night. The Vikings only had seven players on their roster, but they only arrived with six healthy ones, as Lauren Lewis was on crutches with a knee injury. The Bear Cubs missed their first shot of the contest, and then Naomi Zurisadai Vidal took and made the Vikings' first shot attempt. The Bear Cubs made eight of their next 14 shots—Jordan Washington's two 1-footers and two putbacks, Caitlin Baldwin's 3-pointer, Kaia Eubanks' pullup 4-footer, Elle Picard's 3-pointer, and Sydney Martin's 3-pointer—for a 19-2 lead with 2:23 on the clock. With 1:04 left Zurisadai Vidal drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. The Bear Cubs ended the quarter with Shasta Vlasak's 3-point play on a shot fake and drive, Hailey Webb's putback, and Sydney Martin's 14-footer at the buzzer for a 26-4 lead.
The Bear Cubs scored the first five points of the second quarter on Elle Picard's 3-pointer and Jordan Washington's layup after grabbing a defensive rebound and dribbling the length of the court at the 7:39 mark. Angeline Harris was fouled 18 seconds later and made one free throw. The Bear Cubs only scored eight more points in the period on Picard's 3-point play on a layup after intercepting a pass, Sydney Martin's 2-footer off of Anabel Arcilla's assist, and Arcilla's 3-pointer with 2:00 on the clock. The Vikings added four points on one free throw by Abena Yeboah and Athena Alkhoury's 3-pointer, making the Bear Cubs' halftime advantage 39-9.
The Bear Cubs started the third quarter with the ball, and they successfully executed a play coach Campbell just diagrammed that had Elle Picard passing from the left wing to Jordan Washington cutting from the right wing and banking in the 1-footer. After two missed shots, the Bear Cubs made six out of their next nine shots—Abby Tacla's 10-footer, Picard's 3-pointer, Madyson Carson's 15-footer, Hailey Webb's 3-pointer, Amanda Hart's hook from four feet in front of the hoop, and Hattie Piper's steal and full-court layup—to widen their lead to 55-9 at the 3:23 mark. With 2:57 on the clock Athena Alkhoury sank a field goal. Within 62 seconds the Bear Cubs tallied four points on Bennett Gaylord's putback and one by Carson. With 1:09 left Alkhoury swished a 3-pointer. Hart's putback with 33 seconds remaining completed the scoring in the quarter with the Bear Cubs ahead 61-14.
Bennett Gaylord scored the first field goal of the fourth quarter on a 3-footer after cutting to the middle of the key and catching Madyson Carson's pass from the left corner. Athena Alkhoury drained a 3-pointer at the 7:39 mark. The Bear Cubs finished the contest with a 10-0 run comprised of Carson's drive, Abby Tacla's 1-footer on a cut and assist from Jordan Washington, Washington's one dribble 1-footer, Caitlin Baldwin's 5-foot pullup, and Carson's 14-footer from along the left baseline for a 73-17 win.
The Bear Cubs played a man-to-man defense in the first half and a zone defense in the second half. The Vikings struggled offensively as the Bear Cubs made it tough for them to get off shots. The Bear Cubs came up with 18 steals and passed for 18 assists. Athena Alkhoury led the Vikings in scoring with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
For the first time this season, all 13 Bear Cubs scored. Jordan Washington only played 12 minutes but still scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Elle Picard didn't miss a shot as she made one field goal, three 3-pointers, and one free throw for 12 points. Madyson Carson scored a season-high 8 points. Sydney Martin added 7 points, Caitlin Baldwin and Hailey Webb 5 each, Abby Tacla, Bennett Gaylord, and Amanda Hart 4 each, Shasta Vlasak and Anabel Arcilla 3 each, Kaia Eubanks and Hattie Piper 2 each. Madyson Carson also grabbed 7 rebounds. Elle Picard and Jordan Washington each passed for 3 assists. Abby Tacla made 5 steals, while Elle Picard and Hattie Piper each made 4 of them.