SRJC 49, Cosumnes River College 51
On Coaches vs. Cancer night the Bear Cubs (14-9, 6-5) hosted the second place team in the Big 8, the Hawks (19-4, 8-3) of Cosumnes River College. The Bear Cubs won the tip-off and Lucca Lowenberg swished a 3-pointer. A minute later Ivy Gonzalez drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. Saray White scored the Hawks' first point on one made free throw at the 8:08 mark. Neither team was able to put any more points on the scoreboard until Maycee Hunter's 1-footer off of Reese Searcy's assist with 5:28 on the clock. Ashley Gonzalez sank an 18-footer 25 seconds later. Reese Searcy's 3-point play on a putback with 3:10 left gave the Bear Cubs a 10-3 lead. LaKayla Hale drained a 3-pointer on the Hawks' next possession. Eleven seconds after that Meredith Gilbertson was fouled on a shot attempt and made both free throws. Ashley Gonzalez's field goal with 1:47 remaining made their deficit 8-12. Praise Nigimar scored the last four points of the quarter on a 15-footer and a 6-footer right before the buzzer sounded with the Bear Cubs in front 16-8.
The Hawks started the scoring in the second quarter with two 3-pointers by Ter'Majaunique Ford-Small and a field goal by Saray White to tie the score with 8:12 on the clock. The Bear Cubs responded with a 7-0 run on Praise Nigimar's 1-footer on a baseline cut and assist from Hannah Webb, Maycee Hunter's 13-footer, and Meredith Gilbertson's 3-point play on a baseline drive. After Mikaela Whalen's field goal, Lucca Lowenberg drained a 3-pointer, and then so did Lakayla Hale. White's layup at the midpoint of the period pulled the Hawks within three at 23-26. Thirty seconds later Lucca Lowenberg banked in a fast break layup off of Maycee Hunter's long pass. Whalen's layup with 2:37 left got the Hawks back within three points. On the Bear Cubs' next possession, Abby Sanchez cut to the basket, caught Lowenberg's assist pass, and banked in the 1-footer. Both teams missed their next two shots before Lowenberg sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Bear Cubs a 33-25 halftime lead.
Ivy Gonzalez took the Bear Cubs' first shot of the third quarter and banked in the 2-footer off of Maycee Hunter's assist. The Hawks scored the next four points before Meredith Gilbertson's putback at the 6:41 mark. Lakayla Hale was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made just the third free throw. Lucca Lowenberg sank her fourth 3-pointer with 5:39 on the clock for a 40-30 advantage. The Hawks added two field goals in a row to close the gap to 34-40 with 4:11 left. Gilbertson scored the Bear Cubs' final five points of the quarter on a steal and layup, and three out of six free throws on three trips to the line. Ashley Gonzalez's 3-pointer two seconds before the buzzer made the Bear Cubs' lead 45-37.
The Hawks scored the first four points of the fourth quarter. With 6:11 on the clock Meredith Gilbertson drew another shooting foul. She missed the first free throw but made the second for a 46-41 margin. At the 4:50 mark, Lucca Lowenberg swished a 3-pointer. Saray White sank a field goal 21 seconds later. Amirah Rode-McKissack banked in two layups in a row to close the gap to 47-49 with 3:40 left. Post player Karisma Gunn-Briggs' drive tied the score with 2:57 remaining. Both team missed their next shots. The Hawks rebounded a Bear Cub miss and called a timeout with 23 seconds on the clock. They ran a play perfectly and passed to an open Gunn-Briggs next to the hoop when her defender stepped out to stop the driver. She made the go-ahead basket with 8 seconds left. The Bear Cubs called a timeout and advanced the ball to the front court sideline. After a couple of passes and no progress towards the basket, Coach Campbell called her final timeout with 2.9 seconds to go. The Bear Cubs got the ball to Lowenberg in the corner, but her 3-point attempt bounced off the rim, resulting in a 51-49 come-from-behind win for the Hawks.
The Bear Cubs played good defense as evidenced by their holding the Hawks, who came into the game averaging 74.4 points per game, to 51. Offensively, the Bear Cubs made too many bad passes in the second half that resulted in turnovers or missed opportunities to score. Their poor offensive execution in the fourth quarter resulted in only one made shot and one made free throw, as they were outscored 4-14 and let the Hawks claim the victory. Lakayla Hale and Saray White led the Hawks in scoring with 11 points each.
Lucca Lowenberg sank five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Meredith Gilbertson returned to action after missing the last two games due to a concussion and registered her fifth double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Praise Nigimar added 6 points, Ivy Gonzalez and Maycee Hunter 4 each, Reese Searcy 3, and Abby Sanchez 2. Maycee Hunter and Lucca Lowenberg each pulled down 7 rebounds. Reese Searcy passed for 5 assists. Meredith Gilbertson made 4 steals.