SRJC 60, American River College 46
For their final regular season Big 8 contest the Bear Cubs (22-5, 12-3) traveled to Sacramento to face the Beavers (4-23, 2-13) of American River College. While the Bear Cubs missed their first five shots, Aaliyah Jordan got the Beavers on the scoreboard with a 16-footer at the 6:53 mark. Thirteen seconds later Kaia Eubanks banked in a 2-footer off of Caitlin Baldwin's assist. Seventy seconds after that Elle Picard swished a 3-pointer. Then Samiya Jenkins scored inside on the Beavers' next turn on offense. The Bear Cubs tallied the next three points on Abby Tacla's left-handed two-footer on a low post move and one free throw by Eubanks with 3:42 on the clock. Zohra El Qabbaj's 3-pointer 39 seconds later cut their deficit to 7-8. The Bear Cubs put together a 6-0 run in a little over a minute on Sydney Martin's 1-footer off of Eubanks' pass, two free throws by Eubanks, and Jordan Washington's layup after catching Picard's assist. During the final 90 seconds of the quarter, the Beavers made three out of four free throws, while the Bear Cubs added four points on Washington's putback and Martin's 22-footer for an 18-10 lead.
The Beavers started the second quarter with the ball, and Aaliyah Jordan hit a wide open 3-pointer. The Bear Cubs scored their first three points of the period on two free throws by Sydney Martin and one by Madyson Carson. After missing eight shots, the Bear Cubs made two in a row—Kaia Eubanks' 2-footer off of Elle Picard's assist and Caitlin Baldwin's drive. Jordan Washington's putback at the 2:40 mark stretched their lead to 27-13. On their next four possessions, she went to the free throw line three times but made only three out of the six attempts. With time running out, Samiya Jenkins drove toward the left side of the basket and drew a shooting foul with 0.9 seconds left. She made both free throws to cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 30-15 by halftime.
The Bear Cubs made their first two shots of the third quarter—Jordan Washington's 3-footer off of Abby Tacla's assist and Caitlin Baldwin's 3-pointer. The Beavers answered with Samiya Jenkins' 3-pointer and Aniyah Bufford's field goal at the 6:30 mark. Beginning with Elle Picard's 3-pointer, the Bear Cubs made three shots in a row, including Kaia Eubanks' 15-footer and Sydney Martin's drive, to widen their lead to 42-20 with 4:11 on the clock. Nearly a minute later Jessica Lowe banked in a 3-pointer. Martin grabbed a long offensive rebound and drove in to score with 2:45 left. Lowe scored on a fast break layup ahead of the Bear Cubs' defenders. Martin swished a 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining. Samiya Jenkins' 3-point play completed the scoring in the quarter with the Bear Cubs in front 47-28.
Jordan Washington was credited with a 3-pointer on the Bear Cubs' opening possession of the fourth quarter. Samiya Jenkins banked in a 3-pointer on the Beavers' first shot attempt. Allison Canafe intercepted a Bear Cub pass and drove down to make the layup. Amanda Hart banked in a 1-footer off of Jordan Washington's assist at the 6:54 mark. Jessica Lowe turned a steal into a layup 10 seconds later. After Hart dropped in a hook shot from two feet in front of the hoop, Samiya Jenkins banked in another 3-pointer and Karley Miller sank a field goal. Canafe intercepted another careless Bear Cub pass and made the layup with 4:10 on the clock. Madyson Carson scored on a drive 10 seconds later. Canafe again made a steal and layup with 3:20 left, reducing their deficit to 44-56. The Bear Cubs tallied four more points in the period on one free throw each by Hailey Webb and Carson, and Carson's 2-footer after Hattie Piper saved a pass from going out of bounds and pushing the ball back into her hands. Samiya Jenkins made one last basket with 27 seconds remaining, as the Bear Cubs won by a final score of 60-46.
The Bear Cubs made only 39% of their shots (22 out of 56) and held the Beavers to 27% (17 out of 64). In the fourth quarter, the Beavers scored eight points on layups after intercepting Bear Cubs' passes. The Bear Cubs committed 18 turnovers and the Beavers 14 of them. Samiya Jenkins led all scorers with 18 points.
Jordan Washington only took eight shots, but still led the Bear Cubs in scoring with 14 points. Sydney Martin also made five out of eight shots and finished with 13 points. Kaia Eubanks added 9 points, Elle Picard and Madyson Carson 6 each, Caitlin Baldwin 5, Amanda Hart 4, Abby Tacla 2, and Hailey Webb 1. Kaia Eubanks grabbed 8 rebounds and made 4 steals. Elle Picard led in assists with 4. Jordan Washington, who is the top shot-blocker in the state with 83, blocked 5 shots.