SRJC 59, American River College 42
For their final game of first round Big 8 play, the Bear Cubs (13-6, 4-3) traveled to American River College to face the Beavers (8-10, 2-5). Detrice Adams got the Beavers on the scoreboard first with a short field goal. The Bear Cubs made their next three shots in a row—Lindsey Arellano's 3-pointer, Kaia Eubanks's 1-foot hook shot, and Abby Tacla's steal and layup—to zip out in front 7-2 at the 7:03 mark. After Adams made one out of two free throws,
Tacla banked in a 1-footer, Ivy Gonzalez sank a fast break layup, and Eubanks made one free throw to stretch their lead to 12-3 with 3:40 on the clock. Areyana Francies and Adams each made one field goal to close the gap to 7-12 with 2:00 left. In the last 25 seconds of the quarter, Gonzalez scored on a drive and Caitlin Baldwin swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer, putting the Bear Cubs ahead 17-7.
Center Noelle Potratz dropped in two baskets from the low post before Kaia Eubanks' fast break layup at the 5:20 mark. During the remainder of the period, the Bear Cubs outscored their hosts 13-7, as Potratz made one more field goal and two free throws and Detrice Adams three free throws. For their 13 points, Ivy Gonzalez scored on a drive, so did Hailey Webb, Gonzalez dropped in an 8-foot fadeaway, Lindsey Arellano drained a 3-pointer, Webb hit a 20-footer, and Cece Solano tossed in a 3-foot hook at the buzzer for a 32-18 halftime advantage.
Sydney Martin took the Bear Cubs' first shot of the third quarter after she cut to the basket, caught the pass from Kaia Eubanks, and banked in the 1-footer. The Beavers made three unanswered field goals to get within 10 points at 24-34 after four minutes of play. In the next minute Martin sank two free throws and Eubanks scored on a drive. In the second half of the period, the Beavers added nine points, while the Bear Cubs tallied four on two free throws by Kaia Eubanks and Hailey Webb's give-and-go play with Martin. By the end of the quarter, the Bear Cubs' lead was reduced to 42-33.
One basket each by Noelle Potratz and Angelika Abuda in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter got the Beavers within five points at 37-42. Kaia Eubanks sank a 5-footer on a baseline inbounds pass from Hailey Webb at the 7:40 mark. Kyalei Williams swished a 3-pointer forty-four seconds later. The Bear Cubs finished off the contest with a 15-4 run—Ivy Gonzalez's back door cut and assist from Kaia Eubanks, Gonzalez's putback, Shasta Vlasak's fast break layup, Gonzalez's 4-foot pullup jumper, Eubanks' 4-foot hook, Lindsey Arellano's 3-point play on a fast break layup, and two free throws by Abby Tacla—to pull ahead and win by a final score of 59-44.
The Bear Cubs experienced a letdown offensively in the second quarter and defensively in the third, enabling the Beavers to catch up. The Bear Cubs finally clicked on both sides of the court during the final eight minutes of the game, as they outscored their hosts 17-7. The Bear Cubs came up with a season-high 21 steals. Noelle Potratz, the Beavers' 6-foot center, was able to bully her way around the key and led her team with a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds. Detrice Adams also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Two Bear Cubs scored in double figures: Ivy Gonzalez with 14 points and Kaia Eubanks with 13. Lindsey Arellano added 9 points, Abby Tacla and Hailey Webb 6 each, Sydney Martin 4, Caitlin Baldwin 3, Shasta Vlasak and Cece Solano 2 each. Lindsey Arellano led in rebounding with 5. Kaia Eubanks was tops in assists with 5. Ivy Gonzalez and Lindsey Arellano each made 4 steals.