SRJC 48, Fresno City College 66
The #5 seeded Bear Cubs (24-5, 13-3) traveled to Fresno City College to battle the #4 Rams (22-7, 11-1) in the NorCal Playoff Final round contest with the winner advancing to the Elite 8 of the State Championships.
The Bear Cubs got off to a quick start, scoring 10 unanswered points in the first three minutes and ten seconds on Jordan Washington's 1-footer off of Kaia Eubanks' assist, Eubanks' 2-footer off of Elle Picard's pass, her 4-footer off of Washington's pass, Washington's 4-footer off of Picard's assist, and Eubanks' baseline drive. The Rams responded with a 13-0 run, including two 3-pointers, before Jordan Washington's 15-footer with 1:58 on the clock. Kayla Silva's seventh point of the quarter made the Rams' lead 15-12 by the end of the period.
The Bear Cubs scored the first four points of the second quarter on two free throws each by Jordan Washington and Abby Tacla. Destiny Edwards' field goal was followed by Washington's putback at the 5:15 mark. Kayla Silva sank her second 3-pointer, and over a minute later Alyssa Kem drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. Tacla's 10-footer closed the gap to 20-22. After Sara Shein hit a field goal, Washington banked in a 3-footer at the end of a low post move. With 1:04 on the clock, Kem was back at the free throw line making two free throws. Kaia Eubanks' 15-footer with 38 seconds left put the score at 24-26. Kem's basket with 10 seconds remaining got the Rams' halftime lead up to 28-24.
Kaia Eubanks was fouled on a shot attempt 34 seconds into the third quarter and put in both free throws. The Rams stretched their lead to 33-26 on Alyssa Kem's 3-pointer and Sara Shein's field goal. Eubanks' 1-footer off of Caitlin Baldwin's assist was followed the next time down by Jordan Washington's 1-footer off of Abby Tacla's pass. Shein hit another field goal, and then Tacla passed to a wide-open Baldwin for a layup after breaking the press. The Rams made two field goals before Washington's drive and pullup for a one-handed 4-footer with 4:07 on the clock. The Rams scored six unanswered points on Jaelyn Bourdeau's 3-pointer and Shein's 3-point play on a drive at the 2:06 mark. Washington scored the Bear Cubs' last two points of the period on a pair of free throws with 1:43 left. Bourdeau's 35-foot off-balance desperation toss as the buzzer sounded dropped through the basket, widening their advantage to 48-36.
The Rams scored four points in the first 33 seconds of the fourth quarter on two free throws by Alyssa Kem and Allie Madron's steal and layup. The Bear Cubs missed their first four shots of the period before Hailey Webb's scoring drive at the 7:15 mark. Madron hit a 3-pointer nearly a minute later. The Bear Cubs made two baskets in a row on Jordan Washington's putback of her own miss and Kaia Eubanks' 1-footer off of Elle Picard's assist, to make their deficit 42-55 with 5:12 on the clock. The Rams added four points on two free throws by Birdie McDonald and Kem's basket with 2:22 left. Seventeen seconds after that Sydney Martin was fouled on a shot attempt and made both of her free throws. Kayla Silva sank her third 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining. With the Rams over the foul limit, Shasta Vlasak drew a foul away from the basket. She missed her first free throw but made the second. The Bear Cubs were also over the foul limit when Kem was fouled with 36 seconds to go. She again made both of her free throws. On the Bear Cubs' next possession, Martin swished the team's only 3-pointer of the contest. Madron was fouled with four seconds left. Her two free throws completed the scoring in the Rams' 66-48 victory.
Both teams played tough defense and held their opponents below their scoring average—72.9 ppg for the Rams and 63.8 ppg for the Bear Cubs. The Bear Cubs didn't have enough offensive weapons to keep pace with the better-shooting Rams. The Bear Cubs made only 18 out of 50 shots (36%) and just one out of eight (13%) from beyond the arc. The Rams were more successful shooting, as they made 22 out of 51 shots (43%) and 9 out of 23 (39%) from 3-point land. The Bear Cubs committed 24 turnovers, three of them resulting in layups by the Rams. Six of the Rams scored at least 8 points, with three of them reaching double figures: Alyssa Kem with 15 points, Kayla Silva 13 off the bench, and Sara Shein 11. For the Bear Cubs, only Jordan Washington and Kaia Eubanks scored more than 5 points.
Jordan Washington registered her 17th double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Kaia Eubanks scored 14 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Sydney Martin added 5 points, Abby Tacla 4, Hailey Webb and Caitlin Baldwin 2 each, and Shasta Vlasak 1. Elle Picard led in assists with 4.
The loss ends the Bear Cubs' season with a record of 24-6. With this win, the Rams join San Joaquin Delta College, Folsom Lake College, and Laney College in the Elite 8 of the State Championships in Visalia at the College of the Sequoias.