SRJC 58, Folsom Lake College 66
The Bear Cubs (13-7, 5-3) began the second round of Big 8 play at Folsom Lake College, the home of the Falcons (13-7, 5-3). Alysa Lopez put the first two points on the scoreboard on two free throws 61 seconds into the contest. Reese Searcy made one free throw 11 seconds later. Ivy Gonzalez banked in a 2-footer, and then Corrie Harrison went to the free throw line and sank both. Emily Ko's field goal was followed by Lucca Lowenberg's 12-footer and Searcy's drive for a 7-6 Bear Cub lead at the 6:48 mark. Ashleigh Briggs dropped in two baskets in a row, and then the Bear Cubs made two in a row on Searcy's drive and Gonzalez's 2-footer with 3:56 on the clock. The Falcons scored six unanswered points in the next two minutes to go in front 16-11. Gonzalez hit a 5-footer and then a 2-footer, cutting the Falcons' advantage to 16-15 by the end of the period.
The Falcons started the second quarter with the ball and Jadyn Weaver swished a 3-pointer. Twenty seconds later Meredith Gilbertson banked in a layup on a give-and-go play with Lucca Lowenberg. Lowenberg's 6-footer tied the score at 19-19 at the 8:25 mark. During the next four minutes, the Bear Cubs committed four turnovers and missed all three shot attempts, while the Falcons made two 3-pointers and two field goals to jump out to a 29-19 lead. Gilbertson's scoring drive with 4:21 on the clock was followed by Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer on a baseline inbounds pass from Reese Searcy. On the Falcons' next possession Ashleigh Briggs converted a 3-point play on a drive with 3:24 left for a 32-24 margin. Maycee Hunter hit an 8-footer about a minute later. Alysa Lopez's field goal got the Falcons to 34. Hunter's steal and layup cut the Bear Cubs' deficit to 28-34 going into halftime.
The Bear Cubs scored the first five points in the opening minute of the third quarter on Lucca Lowenberg's 3-footer and Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer. Ashleigh Briggs drained a 3-pointer at the 8:20 mark. The Bear Cubs tallied the next five points on Gonzalez's two free throws and Lowenberg's 3-pointer for a 38-37 lead with 7:03 on the clock. Two minutes later Alysa Lopez swished a 3-pointer. Praise Nigimar's drive tied the score at 40-40. The Falcons sank the next two baskets, and then Maya Salas hit a 16-footer with 2:12 left. The Falcons finished the period with five unanswered points on Emily Ko's 3-pointer and Corrie Harrison's field goal for a 49-42 lead.
Ashleigh Briggs put in the first field goal of the fourth quarter. Ivy Gonzalez scored two low post baskets in a row off of assists from Lucca Lowenberg to close the gap to 46-51 at the 8:21 mark. Once again at a critical time in the contest, the Bear Cubs went through a four-minute stretch where they were unable to put more points on the scoreboard while their defense couldn't prevent the Falcons from adding to their total. The Bear Cubs committed three turnovers and missed all six of their shot attempts. Meanwhile the Falcons tallied two field goals by Khalilah Corley and a 3-pointer by Emily Ko to widen their lead to 56-46. Reese Searcy broke the Bear Cubs' scoreless streak with a steal and layup. After a field goal by Alysa Lopez, the Bear Cubs added five unanswered points on one free throw by Searcy, Lowenberg's left handed drive from the right wing, and Searcy's steal and layup. Corrie Harrison converted a 3-point play on a putback with 2:07 left for a 63-53 advantage. Thirty-two seconds later Meredith Gilbertson also completed at 3-point play on a putback. Ko's 3-pointer with 1:03 left made their lead 66-56. In the remaining time Gonzalez went to the free throw line twice and made only one of the two free throws each trip. The Falcons dribbled out the clock on the 66-58 victory.
The Bear Cubs committed 14 turnovers, several at crucial times, and two of them resulting in Falcon layups. The Falcons sank 9 out of 28 (32.1%) 3-point attempts, while the Bear Cubs only made 3 out of 18 (16.7%). Three Falcons scored in double figures: Ashleigh Briggs 14, Corrie Harrison and Emily Ko 13 each.
Ivy Gonzalez led the Bear Cubs with 22 points. Lucca Lowenberg and Reese Searcy reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Meredith Gilbertson added 7 points, Maycee Hunter 4, Maya Salas 2, and Praise Nigimar 2. Meredith Gilbertson grabbed 8 rebounds and Reese Searcy 6. Lucca Lowenberg passed for 4 assists. Maycee Hunter blocked 3 shots.