SRJC 45, Sierra College 53
The Bear Cubs (10-5, 2-1) hosted the 3rd ranked team in the North, the Wolverines (13-2, 2-1) of Sierra College. Trinity Hawkins scored the first basket of the game on a one-handed bank shot from four feet out. The Wolverines tied the score 68 seconds after that. Hawkins pulled down a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court through traffic to sink the layup with 7:44 on the clock. The Wolverines again tied the score. Ashleigh Barr's putback put the Bear Cubs in front again. The Wolverines took the lead on Christina Oliva's 3-pointer. Hawkins' single free throw tied the score. The Wolverines scored six unanswered points on a 3-pointer and three free throws. For the Bear Cubs Kierra Johnson made a low post move and banked in the left-handed 2-footer, and Trinity Hawkins caught the 70-foot pass from Tal Webb then made the layup plus the and-one free throw. By the end of the period Sierra was ahead 13-12.
The Wolverines started the second quarter with the ball, drew a shooting foul, and made one free throw. About a minute later, Trinity Hawkins stole a pass just below the Wolverines' free throw line and drove it down to score the layup as she was fouled. Her free throw gave the Bear Cubs a 15-14 lead. The Wolverines went on an 8-0 run, including two 3-pointers by Christina Oliva, to surge in front 22-15 at the 5:22 mark. The Bear Cubs responded with five unanswered points on Lizbeth Zavala's 6-footer, Alex Ditizio's single free throw, and Ashleigh Barr's fast break layup at the end of a long pass from Tal Webb with 2:55 on the clock. The Wolverines made a basket about a minute later. Tal Webb hit a runner from eight feet out with 1:14 left, and the Wolverines scored the final basket of the period to take a 26-22 lead into halftime.
Neither team could hit a shot to start the third quarter. The Wolverines finally scored a field goal with 7:07 on the clock. Trinity Hawkins was successful on a hard drive to the hoop 26 seconds later. Jesse Miller added another field goal for the Wolverines. After Ciarah Michalik made two free throws, Miller swished two baseline 3-pointers in a row to widen their lead to 36-26 at the 4:12 mark. It took almost two minutes for the Bear Cubs to put a point on the scoreboard thanks to Lizbeth Zavala's free throw. Miller hit two free throws with 2:00 left. The Bear Cubs added four points on Kierra Johnson's left-handed, reverse-pivot move and Ashleigh Barr's 4-footer to end the period in a 31-38 hole.
After making only three out of 16 shots in the third quarter, the Bear Cubs made their first three in a row to start the fourth: Ashleigh Barr caught Trinity Hawkins' assist pass next to the basket, Alex Ditizio intercepted a pass near the Wolverines' free throw circle and drove it down for the layup, then she grabbed a defensive rebound and again drove all the way down to make the layup. The Sierra coach called a timeout with 8:37 on the clock and her team's lead just 38-37. Trinity Hawkins was the first to score after the timeout when she was fouled on a drive and made both free throws to get the Bear Cubs in front 39-38. The Wolverines took back the lead for good with a field goal at the 6:32 mark. Then they scored five more unanswered points by making five out of six free throws. Tal Webb ended the Bear Cubs' scoreless streak with a pair of free throws with 3:55 left. The Wolverines added three more points on a free throw and a field goal with 2:15 remaining. Tal Webb scored on a drive 26 seconds later. The Wolverines made five out of six free throws before Ashleigh Barr caught a tipped sideline inbounds pass and sank a 2-footer to complete the scoring in the Bear Cubs' 45-53 loss.
Defense was a key factor in both teams' struggles to score. The Wolverines came into the game averaging over 80 points per game. The Bear Cubs missed all 17 of their 3-point attempts and committed 24 turnovers. The Wolverines made 15 out of 68 shots (22%) but only turned the ball over 12 times. The Bear Cubs made 17 baskets to the Wolverines' 15, but 6 of theirs were from beyond the arc. The Wolverines made 17 out of 23 free throws (74%) to the Bear Cubs' 11 out of 14 (79%). Two Wolverines scored in double figures—Jesse Miller with 14 and Christina Oliva with 13.
Trinity Hawkins led the Bear Cubs in scoring with 15 points. Ashleigh Barr posted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Tal Webb added 6 points, Alex Ditizio 5, Kierra Johnson 4, Lizbeth Zavala 3, and Ciarah Michalik 2. The Bear Cubs only totaled 6 assists, as Ashleigh Barr and Tal Webb passed for two each.