Women's Basketball: Santa Rosa can't find the offense against Pasadena

#30 Maddie Strom shooting the ball

SRJC 37, Pasadena City College 65

                 In the second round of the College of the Sequoias Tournament, the Bear Cubs (3-2) had to take on the tough Pasadena City College Lancers (5-1), who lost to Reedley College in the first round 51-54. The Lancers won the tipoff, but Maiya Flores scored the first two points of the contest on the Bear Cubs' opening shot. The Lancers tallied the next five points, and then Flores' 3-pointer tied the score with 6:00 on the clock. During the next minute the Lancers added a field goal and a free throw. After Maddie Strom sank a 2-footer and Flores followed with a 3-pointer at the 4:00 mark, the score was tied at 10-10. The Lancers responded with a 3-point play, a field goal, and two free throws before Flores swished her third 3-pointer with 1:25 left. The Lancers drained a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go to build up a 20-13 lead by the end of the quarter.

                The Bear Cubs scored the first three points of the second quarter on one free throw by Lizeth Zavala and a basket by Shayla Newman. Cammie Barsuglia's single free throw with 6:00 on the clock made the score 17-21. The Lancers outscored the Bear Cubs 14-2 during the remainder of the period, as the Bear Cubs were only able to put in two out of six free throws and no baskets to end the quarter in a 19-35 hole.

                The Lancers put nine more points on the scoreboard before Shayla Newman finally put up two for the Bear Cubs with 6:40 on the clock. Britta Irvine and Maiya Flores each added a field goal in the next two minutes, making the score 25-46. When Irvine scored the Bear Cubs' last two points of the quarter on a field goal with 1:36 left, the deficit was 27-48. The Lancers finished with a field goal and a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining for a 53-27 advantage at the end of the period.

                The Bear Cubs had the ball to start the fourth quarter and within 18 seconds, Cammie Barsuglia drained a 3-pointer. The Lancers' Mariah Cathcart grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul on the missed putback. She missed the first but made the second free throw. Following a Bear Cub turnover, Cathcart scored on a layup with 9:01 on the clock. The Lancers didn't score again until they made one free throw at the 6:12 mark. Shayla Newman drew a foul with 5:31 left and made both free throws to get the score to 32-57. The Lancers scored seven unanswered points, including Cathcart's 4-point play. Newman finally broke the scoreless spell with a 3-point play with 1:57 left. The Lancers made their final point 25 seconds later. In the remaining two minutes of the contest, Lizeth Zavala drew two separate fouls and during both trips to the line, she sank the first but not the second. The 37-65 loss eliminates the Bear Cubs from the tournament.

                The Bear Cubs' struggles on offense were particularly evident during the second and fourth quarters when they made only one, then two baskets, respectively. Overall, they made only 12 out of 43 shots (28%). Their 30 turnovers contributed to their only being able to attempt 43 shots. The Lancers made 21 out of 61 shots (34%). The Lancers' two tallest starters, 5'11" Mariah Cathcart and 6'1" Dariel Johnson, both registered double-doubles.

                Maiya Flores led the Bear Cubs with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Shayla Newman almost had another double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Britta Irvine and Cammie Barsuglia both contributed 4 points. Lizeth Zavala added 3 points and Maddie Strom 2. Irvine led in assists with 3.