SRJC 70, Chabot College 61
The Bear Cubs (5-1) hosted the Gladiators (6-0) of Chabot College Tuesday evening. Lucca Lowenberg scored the first five points of the contest on an opening 3-pointer and an 8-foot pull-up jumper. Alexa Pleschette swished her first 3-pointer with 8:17 on the clock. Hannah Webb was successful on a drive across the key about a minute later. Following one free throw by Nia Hunter, the Bear Cubs posted five more points on Ivy Gonzalez's 4-foot fall-away jumper, and Reese Searcy receiving the outlet pass from Gonzalez and driving past defenders to bank in the layup while getting fouled. Searcy stepped to the free throw line and completed the 3-point play for a 12-4 lead at the 6:20 mark. Jadyn Anderson tallied nine unanswered points on three field goals and a 3-pointer with 3:00 left to put the Gladiators in front 13-12. Searcy drew a shooting foul with 1:21 remaining and made both free throws. Twenty seconds later Kelly Tumlin sank a field goal to retake the lead. Ivy Gonzalez dropped in a 4-foot fall-away jumper for the Bear Cubs' last points of the quarter. Pleschette's 3-pointer with 24 seconds to go put the Gladiators ahead 18-16.
The Bear Cubs started the second quarter with a 5-0 run on Meredith Gilbertson's 10-footer off a baseline inbounds pass from Hannah Webb, Webb's layup, and one free throw by Reese Searcy at the 8:24 mark. Kelly Tumlin drained a 3-pointer, and then Lucca Lowenberg hit a 10-foot pull-up jumper. Tumlin's second 3-pointer in a row put the Gladiators back on top 24-23. After Reese Searcy's 3-pointer and Lindsey Arellano's layup, Pleschette hit her third 3-pointer with 5:27 on the clock. During the next four minutes Anderson sank two free throws and Tumlin a 3-pointer, while Praise Nigimar scored on a drive, Lucca Lowenberg hit an 8-foot pull-up jumper, and Nigimar banked in a 1-footer off of Abby Sanchez's assist for a 34-32 lead. The Bear Cubs scored the next seven points on Meredith Gilbertson's 3-pointer, JJ Martinez's 3-point play, and one free throw by Gilbertson to widen the lead to 41-32. With six seconds left Nia Hunter was fouled on a shot and made both free throws. The Gladiators' full-court pressure prevented the Bear Cubs from attempting another shot, so by halftime the Bear Cubs' lead was 41-34.
The Bear Cubs inbounded the ball to start the third quarter, and Lucca Lowenberg was able to score on a drive down the left side of the key. Over a minute later, Jadyn Anderson sank a field goal. Their next time down, Kelly Tumlin was fouled and sank one free throw. Ivy Gonzalez made two field goals in a row on a drive and then on a 2-footer as the fast break trailer with the assist from Reese Searcy to get to 47-37. Alexa Pleschette quickly drained two 3-pointers in a row to close the gap to 43-47 with 6:15 on the clock. Meredith Gilbertson's putback and Praise Nigimar's fast break layup off of Searcy's pass gave the Bear Cubs a little more breathing room. Pleschette's field goal at the 4:13 mark completed the Gladiators' scoring in the quarter. The Bear Cubs finished the quarter on an 8-0 run comprised of Ivy Gonzalez's 1-footer off of Hannah Webb's assist, Searcy's steal and layup, Abby Sanchez catching Maya Salas' 40-foot bullet pass almost under the hoop and sinking the shot, and Lucca Lowenberg's 8-foot pull-up jumper to stretch the lead to 59-45.
Ivy Gonzalez scored the first field goal of the fourth quarter on a drive from the high post down the left side of the key. The next time down Meredith Gilbertson passed to JJ Martinez in the right corner, who then swished the 3-pointer. Nia Hunter scored inside with 8:51 on the clock. Neither team was able to add any more points until Chelsey Antinero made one free throw at the 5:41 mark. Sixty-seven seconds later Reese Searcy banked in the Bear Cubs' final basket on a left-handed drive past defenders, making the score 66-48. On the Gladiators' next possession, Kelly Tumlin drained her fourth 3-pointer. Meredith Gilbertson drew a shooting foul with 4:07 left and made both free throws. Then it was Tumlin's turn to do the same. Maliyah Rivera swished a 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining. On the Bear Cubs' next turn on offense, Cece Solano was fouled on a shot. She made the first free throw. Her second attempt bounced off the rim, and Meredith Gilbertson snared the rebound. She passed out to Reese Searcy, who drove in and was fouled. She missed the first free throw but made the second to get the score to 70-56 with 2:34 left. The Gladiators added five more points on Lexi Romero's 3-pointer and Tumlin's drive, making the final score 70-61.
Both teams made about 43% of their shot attempts. The Bear Cubs made 28 out of 66 (42.4%), including just 4 out of 16 from beyond the arc. The Gladiators, however committed 31 turnovers, so they were only able to attempt 46 shots, making 20 of them (43.5%), 12 of which were 3-pointers. Kelly Tumlin, who sank four 3-pointers, led all scorers with 19 points. Alexa Pleschette hit five 3-pointers and totaled 17 points. Jadyn Anderson also scored in double figures with 13.
Reese Searcy and Lucca Lowenberg led the Bear Cubs in scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Ivy Gonzalez registered her third double-double with 12 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Meredith Gilbertson reached double figures with 10 points. Praise Nigimar and JJ Martinez added 6 points each, Hannah Webb 4, Lindsey Arellano and Abby Sanchez 2 each, and Cece Solano 1. Meredith Gilbertson was second in rebounding with 7. Hannah Webb passed for 4 assists. Lucca Lowenberg made 4 steals.