SRJC 55, City College of San Francisco 64
The Bear Cubs (7-2) were matched against the host Rams (7-3) in the first round of the City College of San Francisco Golden Gate Classic. The Rams' Aaliyah Diaz drained a 3-pointer 57 seconds into the contest and scored on a drive with 7:55 on the clock. Twenty seconds later Ivy Gonzalez drew a shooting foul and made one free throw. The Rams took advantage of the Bear Cubs' turnovers and jumped out to an 11-1 lead before Meredith Gilbertson sank two close shots in a row. Then Paris Kaea swished a 3-pointer. Reese Searcy drew a foul on a drive and hit both free throws. At the 4:48 mark Deonna Mayfield again drove by defenders to score. Ivy Gonzalez's putback with 4:00 left was the Bear Cubs' final basket of the quarter, making the deficit 9-16. The Rams put in two more field goals, while Searcy made three out of four free throws and Lindsey Arellano one out of two, to end the period with the hosts ahead 20-13.
Dede Prim scored the first field goal of the second quarter. Maya Salas banked in a layup on the Bear Cubs' next possession. The Rams put in two more baskets before Lindsey Arellano sank one free throw with 6:57 on the clock. During the next three minutes, the Rams made four free throws and a field goal, while the Bear Cubs added one free throw by Praise Nigimar and one by Meredith Gilbertson for a score of 32-18. The Bear Cubs switched to a trapping half-court defense, which forced Rams to turn the ball over and created their own scoring opportunities. The Bear Cubs outscored the their hosts 11-2 during the remainder of the period on Lucca Lowenberg's 3-point play layup after a steal, Meredith Gilbertson's 1-footer off of Lowenberg's assist, Gilbertson's steal and layup, two free throws by Reese Searcy, and Searcy's drive. By halftime the Bear Cubs were within five points at 29-34.
The Bear Cubs briefly took a 35-34 lead to start the third quarter on two free throws each by Meredith Gilbertson and Lucca Lowenberg and JJ Martinez's layup with 7:52 on the clock. Just 14 seconds later Aaliyah Diaz hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead. Dede Prim's basket increased the margin to 39-35. Praise Nigimar's layup at the end of a Bear Cub fast break, and Meredith Gilbertson's drive at the 5:21 mark made the score 39-41. After a basket by Prim and one free throw by Deonna Mayfield, Ivy Gonzalez scored on a drive with 1:58 left. Tausala Church answered with a 3-pointer within 15 seconds. Following a free throw by Mayfield, Gonzalez banked in a 3-footer off of Maya Salas' assist with 45 seconds to go. Isabella Valencia tallied her only points of the game with a 3-pointer to put the Rams ahead 49-43.
Deonna Mayfield put in the first basket of the fourth quarter. About a minute later Reese Searcy scored on a drive. The Rams tallied two baskets in a row, and then Meredith Gilbertson made the next three points on one free throw followed by a 2-footer off of Ivy Gonzalez's assist with 6:17 on the clock, making the score 48-55. Mayfield drew a shooting foul at the 4:48 mark and sank both free throws. Praise Nigimar's drive with 2:12 left put the score at 50-57. Mayfield banked in the Rams' final field goal with 1:15 remaining. Ten seconds later Reese Searcy drew a foul on a 3-point attempt. She missed the first free throw but made the next two. The Bear Cubs were forced to foul. The Rams made three out of four free throws during two possessions. Searcy banked in a straight ahead shot from beyond the arc with 18 seconds to go. The Bear Cubs fouled one last time and Madison Thomas made both free throws. The Bear Cubs were unable to score again, so the Rams claimed the 64-55victory to advance into the winner's bracket.
The Bear Cubs committed six turnovers and made only 3 out of 9 shots in the first quarter to find themselves in a 7-point hole, 13-20. In the second quarter they did not turn the ball over and forced the Rams to make seven turnovers. Even though the Bear Cubs made only one out of their first 12 shots in the period, their defense helped them overcome a 14-point deficit. The Rams outscored the Bear Cubs by four points in the second half to account for the 9-point win. Three Rams scored in double figures: Deonna Mayfield with 17, Madison Thomas 10, and Dede Prim 10.
Meredith Gilbertson registered her third double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Reese Searcy made two field goals, one 3-pointer, and 9 out of 11 free throws to total 16 points. Ivy Gonzalez added 7 points; Praise Nigimar and Lucca Lowenberg 5 each; Lindsey Arellano, JJ Martinez, and Maya Salas 2 each. Ivy Gonzalez grabbed 8 rebounds. Meredith Gilbertson made 3 steals and blocked 2 shots.