Women's Basketball: Bear Cubs hold on and get a big win against Delta

Mireya Lopez sets a screen for Kylie Oden

SRJC 51, San Joaquin Delta College 46

             On Coaches vs. Cancer night the Bear Cubs (4-6, 8-12) hosted the 9th ranked team in the North, the Mustangs of San Joaquin Delta College (14-7, 7-2), who came into the contest averaging 66 points per game. Neither team scored in the opening two minutes of the quarter. The Bear Cubs got on the scoreboard first when Angel Bernardi was successful on their first shot at the 7:59 mark. The Mustangs quickly responded with a 3-point play when Daisia Williams drove in to score and made the subsequent free throw. Bernardi's putback followed by Destiny Grayer's 3-pointer and single free throw with 4:43 on the clock put the home team ahead 8-4. Williams scored 18 seconds later, and with 3:09 left Mireya Lopez made the Bear Cubs' final basket of the quarter for a 10-6 lead. But the Mustangs finished with Williams' 3-pointer and Creonah Bryant's field goal to go in front 11-10 by the end of the period.

            Jenny Eggers, who went to the bench with her second foul after just two and a half minutes into the opening quarter, started the second period and scored on a putback of her own miss on their first possession. Maddie Strom dropped in a 5-footer their next time down, and a little over a minute later, Gaby Roldan swished a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 17-11. The Mustangs scored three points during the next three minutes. The Bear Cubs then made three baskets in a row on field goals by Mireya Lopez, Kylie Oden, and Angel Bernardi to jump out to a 23-14 lead with 2:07 to go. The Mustangs' post player banked in a 1-footer after catching a nice pass from a driving guard 13 second later. Destiny Grayer sank two free throws with 1:07 on the clock, and Williams was successful on a drive with 40 seconds left. Just before the quarter-ending buzzer, Kylie Oden swished a fall-away, one-handed 18-footer to give the Bear Cubs a 27-18 lead at halftime.

            Both teams had trouble getting shots to drop in the first two minutes of the third quarter. Kylie Oden scored first by swishing her first 3-pointer of the game at the 7:36 mark. The Mustangs' leading scorer, Paiton Demps, sank her first field goal of the game 40 seconds later and added a single free throw nearly two minutes afterwards. After Mireya Lopez had made one free throw with 6:08 on the clock, Oden drained two 3-pointers in a row to increase their lead to 37-21 with 4:14 left. About a minute later Williams hit her own 3-pointer, and the Mustangs added their final point of the quarter on a free throw with 2:13 remaining. Maddie Strom scored the final two points of the quarter on a short bank shot after Angel Bernardi drove and dished off to her to put the Bear Cubs ahead 39-25.

            Bryant swished a 3-pointer 84 seconds into the fourth quarter. With 7:45 on the clock, Gaby Roldan drove around defenders and sneaked in a layup. The Mustangs put together a 7-0 run before Jenny Eggers, who was playing with four fouls, drew a shooting foul and made both free throws just before the midway point of the quarter. The Mustangs added a field goal and two free throws to close the gap to 39-43 with 4:12 on the clock. About a minute later, Kylie Oden drained a deep 3-pointer. Williams scored a field goal with 2:46 left. Destiny Grayer drew a foul on a drive and made both free throws 24 seconds later. Demps sank a field goal with 1:31 remaining, making their deficit 43-48. On the Bear Cubs' next possession Eggers drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. The Mustangs got the ball to Williams for a 3-point attempt, but Oden swatted the ball out of bounds. The Mustangs missed their next shot attempt, and Cammie Barsuglia grabbed the rebound. Mireya Lopez was fouled on a close shot after catching a perfect one-handed pass from Angel Bernardi as she saved the ball from going out of bounds before falling to the ground and rolling into the wall. Bernardi took some time getting up, and following a Delta timeout, Lopez made one free throw with 13 seconds to go for a 51-43 advantage. The Mustangs pushed the ball and Williams got off a successful 3-pointer at the buzzer, as the Bear Cubs pulled off the 51-46 upset win.

            Both teams played tough defense, as evidenced by the Bear Cubs' 29 turnovers and the Mustangs' 28% shooting percentage. Both teams made 17 baskets, but the Bear Cubs made one more 3-pointer than their opponents. The Mustangs made 7 out of 12 free throws (58%), while the Bear Cubs made 11 out of 14 (79%). Daisia Williams led all scorers with 19 points, and Paiton Demps was held to 8 points.

            Kylie Oden, who only made 2 out of 8 shots in the first half, found the touch in the second half as she sank 4 3-pointers to end up with 16 points. Destiny Grayer made one 3-pointer and 5 out of 6 free throws to total 8 points. Jenny Eggers, who was only on the floor for 15 minutes due to foul trouble but contributed in the final quarter by making all four of her free throws and drawing an offensive foul on a driving Mustang, scored 6 points before fouling out with 29 seconds left in the game. Mireya Lopez and Angel Bernardi also scored 6 points each. Gaby Roldan added 5 points and Maddie Strom 4. Angel Bernardi and Kylie Oden were the top rebounders with 7 each. Bernardi passed for 4 assists. Oden blocked 4 shots.