Come back fall short for Bear Cubs, lose to Modesto on the road

Sadie Irvine with the jump shot

SRJC 66, Modesto Junior College 67

            On Friday the 13th the Bear Cubs (6-11, 1-2) traveled to Modesto to take on the Pirates (5-7, 0-3) of Modesto Junior College. Ashley Hart and Sadie Irvine scored the first two field goals of the game, and then the Pirates answered with a field goal and a 3-pointer. The Bear Cubs tallied the next six points on two free throws each by Zaina Depina and Sadie Irvine and a 2-footer by Jenny Eggers for a 10-5 lead at the 6:58 mark. Shealyn Craven made the Pirates' second 3-pointer 16 seconds later. Ashley Hart sank two free throws 20 seconds after that. The Pirates sank the next two field goals to tie the game at 12-12 with 4:00 left. Raquel Garcia hit two 3-pointers within 1:40 to put the Pirates ahead 18-16 with 2:20 remaining. La Donna Saint Louis dropped in an 8-footer and Ashley Hart made two more free throws, while the Pirates added one free throw to hold a 19-18 lead by the end of the quarter.

            The Bear Cubs recorded the first six points of the second quarter on baskets by Meme Nicolis, Sadie Irvine, and Hayley Louzao. The Pirates' first two points came on two free throws at the 6:53 mark. Craven dropped in a 3-pointer a minute later to knot the score at 24. Meme Nicolis banked in another close shot, and the Pirates answered it. Angel Bernardi 3-pointer with 5:00 on the clock put the Bear Cubs in front briefly until Craven's deep 3-pointer tied the score at 29. In the next three minutes Irvine made two field goals and Nicolis one, while the Pirates added six points on a 3-pointer and a 3-point play by Garcia. Madison Barsuglia sank one of two free throws with 54 seconds left, and the Pirates were successful on a 3-pointer to go into halftime with a 38-36 lead.

            The Pirates got off to a hot start in the third quarter, making their first 4 field goal attempts as the Bear Cubs missed their four. Jenny Eggers ended their drought with a field goal at the 6:56 mark. Following a single Pirate free throw, La Donna Saint Louis and Sadie Irvine each sank a field goal to close the gap to 42-47 with 4:20 remaining. With 3:54 on the clock La Donna Saint Louis battled for an offensive rebound and as she was pulling it in, Craven tried to tie up the ball and fouled Saint Louis. Saint Louis was over-aggressive in trying to get Craven off of her, so she was assessed with a technical foul. Craven made the first free throw and missed the second. The Bear Cubs got the ball back on their baseline but were unable to score. Garcia was fouled on a drive with 3:08 left and completed the 3-point play for a 51-44 advantage. La Donna Saint Louis hit a short shot with 37 second left, and then Garcia drew a shooting foul, making both free throws. Angel Bernardi was fouled on a drive with 6 seconds remaining and made one of two free throws to end the quarter with the Bear Cubs trailing 47-53.

            Both teams missed their first few shots of the fourth quarter until the Pirates got open for a close shot 1:15 in. Destiny Grayer scored on a drive from the wing to the opposite side of the basket with 7:18 on the clock. Craven hit an 8-footer with 6:44 left to extend their lead to 57-49 with 6:44 remaining. Grayer connected on a 3-pointer 44 seconds later, but Garcia matched it within 10 seconds for a 60-52 lead. After Meme Nicolis made one of two free throws and Sadie Irvine hit a 10-footer, the Bear Cubs were closer at 55-61 with 3:56 to play. Both teams made one of two free throws before the one-minute mark. With the Bear Cubs over the foul limit, they fouled Garcia, and she made both free throws for a 64-56 lead with 59 seconds to go. Hayley Louzao scored on a putback 11 seconds later. Garcia was again fouled. She made the first but missed the second. With 27 seconds on the clock, Hayley Louzao again grabbed an offensive rebound and banked in the point blank shot to close the gap to 60-65. The Pirates, under pressure, passed the ball out of bounds and Sadie Irvine hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining. Garcia caught the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled. She made both free throws for a 67-63 advantage. Sadie Irvine drove the length of the court and drew a shooting foul with five ticks left. She missed both free throws. Hayley Louzao grabbed the rebound but missed the putback. In the battle for the loose ball, the Pirates knocked the ball out of bounds with just one second on the clock. The Bear Cubs inbounded from the sideline, and Sadie Irvine drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer but one point short, 66-67.

            The Bear Cubs made 50% (13 out of 26) of their shots in the first half, but their 15 turnovers prevented more attempts. They only made 12 out of 36 shots (33%) in the second half.

            Raquel Garcia led all scorers with 28 points. Shealyn Craven added 14 points.

            All of the Bear Cubs scored with Sadie Irvine leading the way with 21 points. Meme Nicolis, returning to action after sitting out the previous game with a concussion, made all five of her field goal attempts and finished with 11 points. Hayley Louzao, Ashley Hart, and La Donna Saint Louis each scored 6 points, Destiny Grayer 5, Jenny Eggers and Angel Bernardi 4 each, Zaina Depina 2, and Madison Barsuglia 1. Meme Nicolis recorded her first career double-double by pulling down 10 rebounds. Sadie Irvine grabbed 8 missed shots, passed for 6 assists, and made 4 steals.

            Tiffany Salinas was ill and did not make the trip. Zaina Depina tweaked her ankle in the second quarter and saw limited action thereafter. La Donna Saint Louis split her chin in the fourth quarter, drawing blood, and didn't return to the floor. In the fourth quarter Ashley Hart hyperextended her already-injured elbow and lost feeling in three of her fingers.