SRJC 59, Sierra College 72
The Championship game of the CCSF Golden Gate Classis featured two Big 8 foes, the Sierra College Wolverines (10-1) and the SRJC Bear Cubs (8-3). Ciarah Michalik scored first on a drive 53 seconds into the game. The Wolverines tied the game 43 seconds later. Trinity Hawkins converted a 3-point play on a turnaround 3-footer. The Wolverines made a basket, and then Ashleigh Barr sank a 5-foot turnaround shot and Hawkins a 1-footer on an assist from Michalik for a 9-4 lead at the 6:01 mark. The Wolverines drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. Hawkins caught the pass with her back five feet from the basket and took one dribble and spun around to put the ball through the hoop. She scored the Bear Cubs final four points of the quarter on a pair of free throws and a drive with 1:15 left. The Wolverines, meanwhile made three field goals, one 3-pointer, and four free throws, to end the period in front 19-15.
The Wolverines scored the first five points of the second quarter on a field goal and a 3-pointer. Sixteen seconds later Ciarah Michalik drained a 3-pointer. The Wolverines added a field goal, Michalik one free throw, the Wolverines a field goal, and Trinity Hawkins banked in a layup with 5:52 on the clock, to get the Wolverines' lead to 26-21. During the remainder of the period, the Bear Cubs scored only five more points on Ashleigh Barr's 4-footer and Michalik's driving layup and plus-one free throw with 7.4 seconds left. The Wolverines, on the other hand, made three field goals and three free throws to extend their lead to 37-26 by halftime.
In the first three minutes of the third quarter, Trinity Hawkins sank two short shots, Tal Webb a 14-footer, and Alex Ditizio one free throw, making the score 33-45. The Wolverines put in two more field goals before Tal Webb caught an offensive rebound with her back to the basket and flipped in the reverse putback. The Wolverines added two more free throws, and the Bear Cubs tallied the next seven points on two baskets by Ashleigh Barr, one free throw by Rose Nevin, and two by Ciarah Michalik with 1:14 left. The Wolverines finished the period with four unanswered points to extend their lead to 55-42.
It took over two minutes for Trinity Hawkins to score the first points of the fourth quarter, when she cut to the basket and caught the assist from Lizeth Zavala. Forty-three seconds later, the Wolverines converted a 3-point play. Over a minute after that, Trinity Hawkins drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. The Wolverines added a pair of field goals before Ciarah Michalik went to the free throw line and made two, putting the score at 48-62. After Trinity Hawkins' single free throw and Lizbeth Zavala's deep 3-pointer with 3:01 left, the Bear Cubs were behind 52-63. Hawkins sank two more free throws and Alex Ditizio a 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining to get to 57-67. The Wolverines scored five more points on a pair of free throws and a 3-point play. Trinity Hawkins grabbed a defensive rebound and drove around defenders to sink the layup just before the buzzer sounded, ending the contest with the Wolverines victorious 72-59.
In the December 13 CCCWBCA poll, the Wolverines were ranked #5 in the State and #3 in the North. Their only loss was by a single point at the hands of #2 Fresno City College. The Bear Cubs were #11 in the North. In the first two rounds of this tournament the Wolverines defeated Napa 107-43 and East Los Angeles 87-55.
Trinity Hawkins led all scorers with a season-high 26 points. Ciarah Michalik also scored in double figure with 13. Ashleigh Barr, who only played 18 minutes due to foul trouble, scored 8 points and pulled down a team-leading 14 rebounds. Tal Webb and Alex Ditizio each added 4 points, Lizbeth Zavala 2, and Rose Nevin 1. Hawkins made 5 steals. Hawkins and Barr were selected to the All Tournament team.