SRJC 54, Modesto Junior College 37
Tuesday night the Bear Cubs (21-5, 11-3) hosted the Pirates (13-13, 5-9) of Modesto Junior College on their final home game of the regular season and Sophomore/Alumni Night. Prior to tipoff the six sophomores—Caitlin Baldwin, Abigail Tacla, Shasta Vlasak, Kaia Eubanks, Sydney Martin, and Hailey Webb—were individually acknowledged for their accomplishments and contributions to the SRJC Women's Basketball program. Immediately after the final photos of the sophomores and their families were taken, the players and alumni surprised Coach Campbell with a special presentation to commemorate her milestone 20 years as head coach at SRJC.
The Bear Cubs won the tipoff, and after passing the ball around the Modesto zone defense, Abby Tacla cut to the basket from the left wing, caught Elle Picard's pass from the right side, and made the 1-footer. A little over two minutes later, Kaia Eubanks cut to the hoop and banked in a 1-footer off of Tacla's assist. Twenty-three seconds later Alessandra Montes scored the Pirates' first field goal on a putback. The Bear Cubs made two shots in a row—Elle Picard's 3-pointer and Eubanks' 3-footer off of Picard's assist for a 9-2 lead at the 6:07 mark. On the Pirates' next possession Taylor Macias drained a shot from beyond the arc, and with 4:20 on the clock Madison Duron made one of two free throws. In the final three minutes of the period, the Bear Cubs scored eight unanswered points on Picard's 10-foot jumper, Jordan Washington's 12-footer, her full-court layup after grabbing a defensive rebound, and her reverse layup two seconds before the buzzer for a 17-6 advantage.
After missing their first four shots of the second quarter, the Bear Cubs added two points on Jordan Washington's low post reverse spin move. The Pirates answered with a basket by Alessandra Montes. About a minute later Rayne Tago was fouled on a putback attempt and made her two free throws. With 4:38 on the clock, Hailey Webb's 3-pointer made the Bear Cubs' lead 22-10. A little over a minute after that, Tago was back at the free throw line sinking two more free throws. Elle Picard's 15-footer with 3:05 left turned out to be their last two points of the period. With 1:45 remaining Taylor Macias made the final two points of the quarter, reducing their deficit by a point at 14-24 going into halftime.
Jordan Washington took the Bear Cubs' first shot of the third quarter and banked in the 1-footer after catching Elle Picard's lob pass next to the hoop. Neither team could add any points until Taylor Macias sank a 3-pointer at the 6:19 mark. Twenty seconds later Sydney Martin cut to the basket, caught Kaia Eubanks' pass, and banked in the 2-footer. On the Pirates next turn with the ball Izabella Sanchez scored inside. The Bear Cubs put together a 7-0 run on Sydney Martin's low post move, one free throw by Martin, Eubanks' 14-footer, and Hattie Piper's layup off of Hailey Webb's steal and assist with 3:57 on the clock for a 35-19 lead. During the remainder of the period the Pirates tallied seven points on seven out of eight free throws. The Bear Cubs only scored five more points on Washington's 2-footer off of Webb's assist and Elle Picard's 3-pointer to end the quarter ahead 40-26.
Taylor Macias scored the first two points of the fourth quarter on a steal and layup. About a minute later, Kaia Eubanks cut to the basket, caught Madyson Carson's pass, and dropped in the 2-footer. After a Pirate miss, Eubanks drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. Alessandra Montes completed a 3-point play on a drive down the middle at the 7:25 mark. Amanda Hart scored on a putback of her own miss 18 seconds after that. Following another basket by Montes, Elle Picard swished a 3-pointer. During the next three and a half minutes, the Pirates scored four points on a basket each by Siena Musson and Rayne Tago to cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 49-37. The Bear Cubs held the Pirates scoreless the rest of the contest while scoring five more points on Eubanks' 3-point play on a fast break layup off of Picard's steal and assist, and Caitlin Baldwin's baseline 10-footer, making the final score 54-37.
The Bear Cubs' tight man-to-man defense held the Pirates to 11 made out of 50 shots (22%). The Pirates' zone defense gave the Bear Cubs trouble, as they made only 33 out of 69 shots (33%), including just 4 out of 24 (27%) from 3-point range. The Pirates attempted 17 free throws, making 13 of them (76%). The Bear Cubs only made four free throws, but they just got five attempts (80%). Two Pirates reached double figures in scoring: Alessandra Montes with 11 and Taylor Macias with 10.
Three Bear Cubs scored in double figures: Kaia Eubanks with 13 points, Jordan Washington 12, and Elle Picard 10. Caitlin Baldwin and Sydney Martin each added 5 points, Hailey Webb 3, Abby Tacla, Hattie Piper, and Amanda Hart 2 each. Jordan Washington grabbed 8 rebounds and Kaia Eubanks 7. Elle Picard passed for 5 assists. Sydney Martin and Jordan Washington each blocked three shots.