SRJC 46, San Jose City College 75
The #13 seeded Bear Cubs (17-12, 7-9 in the Big 8) traveled to San Jose to face the #4 seeded Jaguars (26-2, 10-0 in the Coast-South Conference) in Round 2 of the NorCal Playoffs. San Jose's 6'2" post player Hayley Johnson took the first shot of the contest and banked in the 2-footer. Nearly two minutes later Synise Byrd scored on a drive from the wing. Lindsey Arellano got the Bear Cubs on the scoreboard when she drove into the key and tossed in the underhanded shot from four feet out. After another layup by Byrd, Kaia Eubanks banked in a 2-footer off of Sydney Martin's assist. Alyssa Malla drained a 3-pointer and Johnson completed a 3-point play before Ivy Gonzalez hit a 6-foot pullup jumper and Cece Solano made two free throws. Another 3-point play by Johnson and a field goal by Hasana Gilchrist extended the Jaguars' lead to 17-8 at the 3:39 mark. Seventeen seconds later Ivy Gonzalez posted her own 3-point play on a putback in a crowd. Malla made one free throw, and then Ivy Gonzalez put back another offensive rebound with 2:06 on the clock, cutting the Jaguars' margin to 18-13. The Jaguars finished the quarter with a 7-2 run, as Kaia Eubanks made two of four free throws, resulting in a 25-15 lead for the hosts.
Tatiana Collazo tallied the first two points of the second quarter on a pair of free throws at the 7:44 mark. On the Bear Cubs' next possession Sydney Martin passed from the high post to Kaia Eubanks next to the basket. Eubanks made the 1-footer, was fouled on the play, and sank the and-one free throw. Sydney Martin's 2-footer the next time down made their deficit 20-27. The Jaguars scored the next five points on a field goal by Hasana Gilchrist and a 3-point play by Tatiano Collazo with 5:49 on the clock. With 4:04 left Ivy Gonzalez dropped in a 1-footer and then Gilchrist put in another field goal for a 34-22 lead. This time it was the Bear Cubs' turn to end the period with a 10-2 run on Abby Tacla's drive, one 3-pointer each by Caitlin Baldwin and Hailey Webb, and Gonzalez's putback to get within four points at 32-36 by halftime.
The Jaguars scored the first four points of the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Synise Byrd and one free throw by Alyssa Malla before Sydney Martin's 2-footer at the 6:10 mark. During the next five minutes the Jaguars outscored the Bear Cubs 14-2 on a field goal by Hayley Johnson and four 3-pointers, while Lindsey Arellano put in the only field goal for the Bear Cubs on an 8-foot runner with 4:00 on the clock. In the final minute of the quarter, Kaia Eubanks sank a 12-footer, Malla swished a 3-pointer, and then so did Caitlin Baldwin. The Jaguars were ahead 57-41 after three quarters of play.
The Jaguars added three points on a field goal by Alyssa Malla and one free throw by Tatiana Collazo. Ivy Gonzalez drew a shooting foul at the 6:26 mark and made just the second free throw. Kaia Eubanks scored the next two points on a fast break layup after Lindsey Arellano pulled down a defensive rebound, dribbled toward half court and passed ahead to her near the basket with 5:55 on the clock to get to 44-60. The Jaguars put together a 15-0 run on three field goals and three 3-pointers before Cece Solano used a low post move to score the final two points of the contest with 59 seconds left. The Jaguars' 75-46 victory advances them to the NorCal Finals against #5 Folsom Lake College, while it brings the Bear Cubs' season to an end.
The Bear Cubs were able to keep the game close in the first half by scoring 32 points on 12 out of 32 shots (38%). But during the second half, the Jaguars made 14 out of 37 shots (38%), including nine from beyond the arc. The cold-shooting Bear Cubs only managed to make 6 out of 30 shots (20%) against the Jaguars' zone defense. Four Jaguars scored in double figures: Synise Byrd led with 21 points, Tatiano Collazo 17, Alyssa Malla 15, and Hayley Johnson 14. Johnson blocked five shots.
Ivy Gonzalez finished her Bear Cub career with her 13th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kaia Eubanks contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds. Caitlin Baldwin added 6 points, Lindsey Arellano, Sydney Martin, and Cece Solano 4 each, Hailey Webb 3, and Abby Tacla 2. Lindsey Arellano pulled down 8 rebounds and passed for two assists.