SRJC 63, Diablo Valley College 59
For their final Big 8 contest of the season, the Bear Cubs (17-10, 9-6) traveled to Pleasant Hill and the home of the Diablo Valley College Vikings (15-12, 5-10). Both teams had problems scoring in the opening minutes before Lexie Lipary's drive at the 7:45 mark. Meredith Gilbertson was successful on a low post move 21 seconds later. The Vikings scored the next five points on Lipary's drive and Grace Oakley's 3-point play with 6:08 on the clock. During the subsequent five minutes the Bear Cubs outscored their hosts 11-4 on Reese Searcy's 3-pointer, two free throws by Ivy Gonzalez, Lucca Lowenberg's drive, Gonzalez's 1-footer off of Searcy's assist, and Gilbertson's low post spin move for a 13-11 lead. In the final minute of the period Lipary scored on a drive, while Praise Nigimar made three out of four free throws and Lindsey Arellano caught her own deflected pass and dropped in a shot at the buzzer for an 18-13 advantage.
The Vikings started the second quarter with a 10-0 run on one field goal each by Izzy De la Cruz and Skyler Parker and two 3-pointers in a row by Tamana Sharifi to jump out in front 23-18 at the 6:28 mark. Abby Sanchez drew a shooting foul 15 seconds later and made just the second free throw. After a Viking miss, Meredith Gilbertson was fouled on a shot attempt and made one free throw. Then Lexie Lipary's drive got their lead back up to five at 25-20. With 3:44 on the clock, the Bear Cubs began a 6-0 run on Lucca Lowenberg's 12-footer off of Reese Searcy's assist, Ivy Gonzalez's 1-footer off of Gilbertson's assist, and Gilbertson's low post move, to edge ahead 26-25. Tegan Gaines drew a shooting foul with 2:24 left. She missed the first free throw and tied the score at 26-26 when she made the second. Neither team added any more points, so the half came to an end with the score tied at 26-26.
Reese Searcy broke the tie with a 3-pointer. Skyler Parker made a shot from the low post, then Maycee Hunter cut to the hoop, caught Meredith Gilbertson's assist pass, and banked in the 1-footer. Parker again scored inside, Lucca Lowenberg swished a 3-pointer, and Parker made another basket at the 6:24 mark. Reese Searcy put in two free throws and Gilbertson drained a 3-pointer for a 39-32 margin. Skylar Henrich hit a long 2-pointer and one of two free throws about a minute later. Praise Nigimar and Lindsey Arellano sank back-to-back 3-pointers for a 45-35 lead with 3:42 on the clock. The Vikings tallied six unanswered points on a field goal and 3-pointer by Henrich and one free throw by Lexie Lipary to close to 41-45. Lowenberg swished a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left. Henrich added another field goal to cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 43-48 by the end of the quarter.
The Vikings began the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run on two free throws and a 3-pointer by Tegan Gaines and basket by Skylar Henrich to jump out in front 50-48 at the 8:33 mark. The Bear Cubs responded with six unanswered points on Reese Searcy's 20-footer, Meredith Gilbertson's 1-footer off of Maycee Hunter's assist, and two free throws by Ivy Gonzalez. Skyler Parker scored inside and Lexie Lipary on a drive to tie the score at 54 apiece with 5:24 on the clock. Sixteen seconds later JJ Martinez drove in past defenders to bank in the layup. She was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Their next time down Reese Searcy completed a 3-point play with her successful drive. Just nine seconds after that she was back at the free throw line after intercepting a pass and getting fouled on her layup attempt. She made both free throws for a 61-54 lead with 4:31 left. Skylar Henrich drained a 3-pointer 70 seconds later. The Bear Cubs missed their shot attempts. With 1:28 remaining Tamana Sharifi drew a shooting foul and made both free throws to close to 59-61. Both teams missed shots, and with 15 seconds to go, the Vikings called their last timeout. They got the ball within 10 feet of the hoop but the shot bounced off the rim. Praise Nigimar grabbed the rebound and passed to Reese Searcy, who was fouled with five seconds left. She made both free throws for a 63-59 lead. The Vikings inbounded, but were unable to get a good shot off against full court pressure, resulting in a final score of 63-59 in favor of the Bear Cubs.
This was a tight battle the entire game. The Vikings made 41% (22 out of 54, including 5 3-pointers) of their shot attempts, while the Bear Cubs made 31% (20 out of 64, including 7 3-pointers). Free throws proved to be crucial. The Vikings made only 10 out of 18 (56%), but the Bear Cubs made 16 out of 22 (73%). Four Vikings scored in double figures: Skylar Henrich with 16, Lexie Lipary 11, Tamana Sharifi and Skyler Parker 10 each.
Reese Searcy led the Bear Cubs with 17 points, including 7 out of 7 from the free throw line. Meredith Gilbertson nearly got a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Lucca Lowenberg made two field goals and two 3-pointers for 10 points. Ivy Gonzalez added 8 points, Praise Nigimar 6, Lindsey Arellano 5, Maycee Hunter and JJ Martinez 2 each, and Abby Sanchez 1. Ivy Gonzalez led in rebounding with 12. Reese Searcy had 3 assists and 3 steals. Meredith Gilbertson had 3 steals and 3 blocks.