SRJC 71, Sierra College 54
Thursday the Bear Cubs (15-10, 7-6) headed Jessup University in Rocklin to take on the Wolverines (16-9, 10-3) of Sierra College. Julianne Cotterill scored the first basket after nearly a minute of play. Meredith Gilbertson swished a 3-pointer 49 seconds later. Neither team added any more points until Lucca Lowenberg went to the free throw line at the 6:39 mark and made both. Klera Catubig-Hess then tied the score with a shot from beyond the arc. During the next four minutes the Wolverines made three field goals, while the Bear Cubs tallied 10 points on Meredith Gilbertson's low post move, Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer, Maycee Hunter's steal and layup, and Reese Searcy's 3-point play drive to put the Bear Cubs ahead 15-11. Searcy's fast break layup was followed by Cotterill's low post basket with just under a minute to go. The Bear Cubs scored two more times on Gilbertson's putback and Searcy's drive to take a 21-13 lead by the end of the quarter.
Meredith Gilbertson took the Bear Cubs' first shot of the second quarter and sank the 20-footer. The Wolverines scored five unanswered points on Julianne Cotterill's field goal and Alyssa Premo's 3-pointer. About 45 seconds later, Gilbertson pulled down a Wolverine miss and drove the ball coast-to-coast to sink a layup. 6'2" post player Katie Leeth moved outside the arc, caught the pass, and drained the 3-pointer. Ivy Gonzalez banked in a putback, and then Cotterill scored inside at the 5:19 mark, making the Bear Cubs' lead 27-23. Gilbertson's 3-point play on a drive from the high post stretched the lead to 30-23 with 4:49 on the clock. Nearly two minutes later Premo drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. With 1:53 left, Lucca Lowenberg banked in a 2-footer after one dribble on a baseline inbounds pass from Reese Searcy. Beau Von Seipler swished a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go. Lowenberg scored the final two points of the quarter on a back cut and assist from Gilbertson for a 34-28 halftime lead.
The Bear Cubs exploded out of the gate to start the third quarter. They made their first seven shots in a row—Maycee Hunter's 5-footer on a cut and assist from Meredith Gilbertson, her 3-footer off an assist from Reese Searcy, Lucca Lowenberg's drive, Gilbertson's drive, Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer, Searcy's steal and layup, and then her drive and spin move—to jump out to a 49-30 advantage at the 6:13 mark. The Wolverines put in two field goals, and then Searcy quickly dribbled from the back court, down the right side, and across the key to bank in the left-handed layup past multiple defenders. The Wolverines answered with five points by Alyssa Premo and two by Katie Leeth before Lowenberg swished a 3-pointer with 2:12 on the clock. Leeth sank one more field goal, and Praise Nigimar cut into the key, caught Gilbertson's pass, and sank the 4-footer just before the buzzer, making the Bear Cubs' lead 56-43.
The Wolverines scored the first three points of the fourth quarter on one free throw by Mikayla Bumgarner and two by Alyssa Premo in the opening two minutes. The Bear Cubs went on an 8-0 run on two free throws by Meredith Gilbertson, Ivy Gonzalez's fast break layup off of Gilbertson's assist, Lucca Lowenberg's 2-footer on a cut and assist from Gonzalez, and Maycee Hunter's fast break layup with 5:40 on the clock for a 64-46 margin. Bumgarner sank a field goal 15 seconds later. The Bear Cubs scored the next five points on Gonzalez's low post up-and-under move, one free throw by Reese Searcy, and two by Abby Sanchez at the 4:25 mark. Christelle Williams and Premo each added a field goal. Lowenberg made one of two free throws, and then Julianne Cotterill sank both of hers with 49 seconds left. Ivy Gonzalez tallied the final point nine seconds later on one of two free throws. After one more missed shot by both teams, the Bear Cubs were able to dribble out the clock on their 71-54 win.
The Bear Cubs were hoping to avenge their 71-80 loss at home against the second place Wolverines, who averaged 77.1 points per game, and came into the game determined to play tough team defense. They completed this goal and held the Wolverines to 33.9% shooting (21 out of 62) and only 54 points. The Bear Cubs successfully pushed the ball whenever possible and made 62 % (24 out of 39) of their 2-point shots. Alyssa Premo led all scorers with 20 points, and Julianne Cotterill tallied 12.
Meredith Gilbertson played a gritty game on both sides of the court and registered her 6th double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Ivy Gonzalez contributed her 9th double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Reese Searcy played one of her best games, scoring 14 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, passing for 3 assists, and making 4 steals. Lucca Lowenberg also scored 14 points. Maycee Hunter added 8 points, and Abby Sanchez and Praise Nigimar 2 each. Meredith Gilbertson led in assists with 5.