SRJC 66, American River College 57
The Bear Cubs (6-8, 2-3) hosted the Beavers (8-8, 1-4) of American River College for their second home game in a row. Deja Samuels sank the Beavers' first shot of the game—a 3-pointer. Two minutes later Shayla Newman got the Bear Cubs on the scoreboard with a 2-footer. Samuels followed with a second 3-pointer 18 seconds after that, and then Cammie Barsuglia sank one for the Bear Cubs. A layup and a putback by Newman tied the score at 9-9 with 5:20 on the clock. Jasmine Henderson's field goal and Newman's second putback with 2:20 left put the Bear Cubs ahead 13-11. The Beavers sank a 3-pointer with a minute to go, and then Newman got open on a cut across the key and made the basket with 40 seconds remaining for a 15-14 lead. The Beavers ran the clock down and Samuels swished a straight-away 3-pointer to put her team in front 17-15 as the quarter ended.
The Beavers made one free throw 100 seconds into the second quarter. The Bear Cubs missed their first six shots before making five in a row—Maddie Strom's 14-footer, inside shots on cuts to the basket by Shayla Newman, Lizeth Zavala, and Maiya Flores, and Flores' drive—for a 25-22 lead with 3:13 on the clock. The Beavers scored the last six points of the quarter on layups off of steals to go back in front 28-25 by halftime.
The Beavers made the first shot of the third quarter. Then Shayla Newman cut off a screen, caught the pass, and took of couple of dribbles before banking in the shot 15 seconds later. Maddie Strom put in two short shots in a row, and Cammie Barsuglia banked in one as she got open on a backdoor cut, making the score 33-30. The Beavers scored seven straight points on three field goals and a free throw to sprint ahead 37-33 with 4:40 on the clock. Maiya Flores broke the scoreless streak with three 3-pointers in a row for a 42-40 lead with 2:50 left. Shayla Newman scored the Bear Cubs' final two points of the quarter on a drive to the hoop with 2:15 remaining. The Beavers went to the free throw line twice to shoot two and three were successful, getting them within a point 43-44 by the end of the quarter.
Both teams made one free throw in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Two-and-a-half minutes into the period, Shayla Newman grabbed a defensive rebound, passed out to Maiya Flores, who pushed the ball up court, then made a bullet pass between two defenders to a sprinting Maddie Strom. Strom caught the pass in stride and made the layup. After a Beavers' field goal, Strom hit an 8-footer from the left side. The Beavers made another field goal, and then Newman sank two in a row for a 55-50 lead with 4:08 left. Samuels made a 15-footer and two free throws before Newman's layup with 1:40 to go. Following a Beavers' miss, Jasmine Henderson, who sat much of the game in foul trouble, buried a huge 3-pointer from the right corner to stretch the lead to 60-54 with 1:10 remaining. Maiya Flores was fouled 31 seconds later and made both free throws. Samuels was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws with 25 seconds to play. The Bear Cubs called a timeout and advanced the ball to the front court. When play resumed, Flores caught the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled. She made both free throws. The Beavers missed their shot attempt and Cammie Barsuglia cradled the rebound. She was fouled and went to the line having missed four free throws earlier in the game. This time she made both free throws. Shayla Newman pulled down the Beavers' last shot attempt of the game and the Bear Cubs ran out the clock on their 66-57 victory.
The Bear Cubs' defense forced three Beavers' 30-second clock violations, two offensive fouls, and five bad passes in the first half, which kept the score close. In the second half, the Bear Cubs committed 10 turnovers, but they made 15 out of 28 shots (54%) to help offset the miscues. The Beavers shot well from the free throw line, making 19 out of 23 (83%). The Bear Cubs were the opposite, as they made only one out of 12, before making all six to end the game. Samuels was the leading scorer for the game with 27 points, including four 3-pointers and 9 out of 11 from the free throw line.
Shayla Newman posted her third double-double in a row and seventh overall with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Maiya Flores totaled 17 points, including three 3-pointers and four free throws. Maddie Strom made 5 field goals for 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Cammie Barsuglia added 7 points, Jasmine Henderson 5, and Lizeth Zavala 2. Post players Strom and Newman both passed for 5 assists each, as the Bear Cubs were successful at setting screens and getting cutters open for easy baskets.