SRJC 45, San Joaquin Delta College 76
The Bear Cubs (8-9, 4-4) started the second round of Big 8 play in Stockton against the #5 team in the North, the San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs (16-4, 7-1). The Mustangs scored the first 11 points of the game before Shayla Newman drew a shooting foul and made both free throws at the 4:41 mark. The host team finished the quarter with three more field goals, while the Bear Cubs missed all of their shots, giving the Mustangs a 17-2 lead.
The Mustangs began the second quarter with nine unanswered points until Jasmine Henderson's 3-pointer with 7:40 on the clock, which was followed by DJ Hayes' 12-footer and two free throws by Lizeth Zavala. Maiya Flores' 3-pointer at the 4:23 mark put the deficit at 12-29. During the remainder of the period, Zavala scored two field goals and Flores two free throws, while the Mustangs added nine more points to make their lead 38-18 by halftime.
The Mustangs sank a 3-pointer and a field goal to open up the third quarter, and Britta Irvine's 3-pointer swished through 90 seconds in. The Mustangs made a field goal about a minute later, and Maiya Flores did the same 18 seconds after that. The Mustangs tacked on seven more points before Flores' 3-pointer started a 6-0 Bear Cub run, which included one free throw by DJ Hayes and two by Shayla Newman. Following a Mustangs' field goal, Jasmine Henderson drained two 3-pointers and the Mustangs one. The Mustangs then proceeded to add two 3-pointers and a field goal to the Bear Cubs' one free throw by Henderson to make the host's lead 60-36 by the end of the period.
Maiya Flores' 3-pointer started the scoring in the fourth quarter. Quiara Watkins sank two 3-pointers, Madeline Strom completed a 3-point play, the Mustangs put in a field goal, and then Strom made one of two free throws with 3:50 left to make the score 43-68. The Mustangs dropped in their tenth 3-pointer of the contest, and then Maiya Flores tallied the Bear Cubs' final points on a pull-up jumper at the free throw line with 2:04 to go. The Mustangs made one more field goal with 55 seconds to play to make their final margin of victory 76-45.
The Bear Cubs shooters struggled in the first half against the Mustangs' tough half-court trapping defense. They missed all 15 of their first quarter shots and made 5 out of 14 in the second period. The Mustangs, on the other hand, sank 16 shots and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds in the first half. The Bear Cubs managed to make 8 out of 27 shots (30%) in the second half, but the Mustangs connected on 16, including 7 from beyond the arc. Quiara Watkins led all scorers with 20 points, 18 on 3-pointers.
Maiya Flores and Jasmine Henderson both scored in double figures and each sank three 3-pointers, finishing with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Lizeth Zavala contributed 6 points, Madeline Strom and Shayla Newman 4 points each, and Britta Irvine and DJ Hayes 3 each. Shayla Newman pulled down 8 missed shots. Cammie Barsuglia passed for 3 assists.