SRJC 78 Fresno City College 68
The Bear Cubs (3-1) faced the Fresno City College Crossover hosts (2-1) Veterans Day afternoon. The Bear Cubs won the tipoff and after several passes, Lucca Lowenberg found Ivy Gonzalez open next to the basket for the first two points of the contest. Madison Johnson took the Rams' first shot and drained the 3-pointer. Angela Whitfield made one of two free throws after over a minute. Lowenberg swished two 3-pointers and then Briajanae Wade sank one. Ivy Gonzalez was fouled on a shot attempt and made both free throws at the 5:31 mark. Elise LeBeau's 3-pointer 11 seconds later tied the score at 10. Neither team scored again until Hannah Webb's successful drive with 2:33 on the clock. Praise Nigimar drew a shooting foul with 1:47 left and made both free throws. Johnson put in a shot from beyond the arc to get the Rams to 13-14. Hannah Webb went to the free throw line with 19 seconds remaining and increased the Bear Cubs' lead to 16-13 by the end of the quarter.
Lucca Lowenberg scored the first two points of the second quarter after receiving a pass down low and taking a dribble to avoid a defender. The Rams added five points in 31 seconds on a Madison Johnson field goal and Briajanae Wade's 3-point play to tie the score at 18. Lowenberg's 1-footer off of Lindsey Arellano's assist 12 seconds later broke the tie. Wade made another basket and Reese Searcy sank her two free throws. Remni White scored two baskets for a 24-22 Ram lead with 6:32 on the clock. The Bear Cubs put together a 10-1 run on Arellano's layup off of Ivy Gonzalez's assist, Lowenberg's 4-foot pullup jumper, Meredith Gilbertson's 2-footer off of Hannah Webb's assist, Webb's drive, and Gilbertson's drive for a 32-24 margin with 1:38 on the clock. Wade swished a 3-pointer. Maya Salas' 10-foot jumper with 50 seconds remaining got the Bear Cubs to 34. In the final seconds, Wade added two free throws and Whitfield a basket to cut the Bear Cubs' halftime led to 34-32.
The Bear Cubs started the third quarter with an 8-0 run comprised of Hannah Webb's 3-pointer, Lucca Lowenberg's 8-foot pullup jumper, one free throw by Meredith Gilbertson, and Gilbertson's post move. Corin Camara tallied the Rams' first field goal at the 6:34 mark. During the next minute Lucca Lowenberg hit a 15-footer and Hannah Webb a 3-pointer, while Camara made one free throw. Rajdeep Kaur scored her first field goal of the game, and then Hannah Webb drove around defenders to bank in the layup for a 49-47 Bear Cub lead. The Rams scored five unanswered points on Elise LeBeau's basket and Makayla Carre's 3-pointer to close to 42-49 with 2:33 on the clock. Over a minute later, Reese Searcy received the outlet pass at the wing and dribbled past Rams to bank in the layup. Wade added two free throws with 50 seconds left. Praise Nigimar was credited with the last four points of the quarter on a cut to the basket and Reese Searcy's assist and a putback just before the buzzer to widen the Bear Cubs' lead to 55-44.
The Rams scored the first basket 40 seconds into the fourth quarter. Reese Searcy drew a shooting foul 33 seconds later and made one free throw. A little over two minutes passed before Ivy Gonzalez scored next to the hoop off of Hannah Webb's assist. The Rams tallied six unanswered points in less than a minute on steals, prompting a Bear Cubs' timeout with 5:55 on the clock and their lead down to 58-52. During the next minute Maya Salas drained a 3-pointer and Reese Searcy converted a steal into an uncontested layup. For the Rams' part Angela Whitfield made her third field goal of the period and Corin Camara swished a 3-pointer, making the score 63-57. For the next three minutes the Bear Cubs' defense came up with stops, and their offense added nine points on Searcy's 3-point play, Praise Nigimar's 2-footer off of Meredith Gilbertson's assist, and two free throws each by Lucca Lowenberg and Nigimar for a 72-57 advantage. Aleyah Higa sank a close shot at the 2-minute mark. Twelve seconds later, Searcy drove down the left and completed another 3-point play. Higa added another field goal from inside the key, and then JJ Martinez drew a foul trying to dribble through the Rams' full-court pressure. With the Rams over the foul limit, Martinez went to the free throw line and sank just the second. After a Rams' miss, Hannah Webb was fouled and made both free throws to put the Bear Cubs' margin at 78-61 with 52 seconds left. The Rams finished with seven straight points on two baskets and a 3-pointer to make the final score 78-68.
Fortunately the Bear Cubs made 55% of their shots (27 out of 49), as their 32 turnovers prevented them from getting more shot attempts. Their success at the free throw line—19 out of 24 for 79%—proved crucial with the Rams making 8 out of their 12 free throws. Three Rams scored in double figures: Briajanae Wade 18, Angela Whitfield 12, and Madison Johnson 10.
The Bear Cubs were led in scoring by Hannah Webb and Lucca Lowenberg with 16 points each. Reese Searcy and Praise Nigimar posted season-highs with 13 and 10, respectively. Meredith Gilbertson added 7 points, Ivy Gonzalez 6, Maya Salas 5, Lindsey Arellano and Cece Solano 2 each, and JJ Martinez 1. Meredith Gilbertson, Ivy Gonzalez, and Praise Nigimar each pulled down 7 rebounds. Reese Searcy passed for 4 assists and made 3 steals. Meredith Gilbertson blocked 3 shots.