SRJC 62, Fresno City College 45
In their second round winners' bracket game of the Jocelyn Mancebo Classic, the Bear Cubs (1-0) were pitted against the Rams (1-0) of Fresno City College. The Bear Cubs jumped out to an 8-0 lead after four minutes of play on Kaia Eubanks' 1-footer off of Abby Tacla's assist, Jordan Washington's putback of her own miss, Shasta Vlasak's fast break layup after catching Elle Picard's long pass, and two free throws by Jordan Washington. Sara Shein broke the Rams' scoreless start with a jumper at the 5:18 mark. Over two minutes later, Caitlin Baldwin swished a 3-pointer after receiving Picard's crosscourt pass. Thirty seconds later, Hailey Webb went to the free throw line where she made her first free throw. When her second bounced off the rim, Sydney Martin pulled down the rebound and was fouled on the putback attempt. She missed her first free throw but made the second for a 13-2 lead with 2:40 on the clock. Alyssa Kem scored the next three field goals to close the gap to 8-13 with 35 seconds left. Washington put in the last basket of the quarter on a cut to the hoop and a perfect pass from Vlasak for a 15-8 advantage.
The Rams scored the first three points of the second period on one of two free throws and a field goal by Sara Shein. Kaia Eubanks added four points in a row on a drive and a pair of free throws at the 8:02 mark. Alyssa Kem drew a shooting foul eight seconds later and made just the first free throw. After Sydney Martin sank two free throws, Destiny Edwards drained a 3-pointer, making the Bear Cubs' lead 21-15 with 6:10 on the clock. The Bear Cubs put together an 11-0 run—Elle Picard's 3-pointer, one free throw by Sydney Martin, a 3-footer and a putback by Jordan Washington, and Picard's 3-point play on a drive—to widen their margin to 32-15 with 1:40 left. Birdie McDonald put the last two points of the quarter on the scoreboard when she made two free throws with 54 seconds remaining, as the Bear Cubs went into halftime with a 32-17 lead.
Shasta Vlasak tallied the first two points of the third quarter on a layup after Kaia Eubanks spotted her in the front court on the left side and got the long pass to her. Alyssa Kem sank a jumper, and then Allie Madron hit a shot from beyond the arc. The Bear Cubs scored six unanswered points beginning with Vlasak's layup, and followed by Jordan Washington's putback of her own miss, and Elle Picard's 5-footer for a 40-22 lead at the 6:30 mark. During the remainder of the period, the Bear Cubs only added one free throw by Washington and a layup by Eubanks. Meanwhile Sara Shein made four field goals to cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 43-30 by the end of the quarter.
Caitlin Baldwin scored five points on the Bear Cubs' first two possessions of the fourth quarter when she drained a 3-pointer and then put back her own miss the second time down. The Rams matched that with a field goal by Kayla Silva and a 3-pointer by Allie Madron. Both teams scored four points in the next minute—the Bear Cubs on Kaia Eubanks' drive and Elle Picard's cut and assist from Baldwin, while Alyssa Kem made four out of four free throws. The Rams went on a 6-0 run on a 3-pointer by Madron, one free throw by Destiny Edwards, and a jumper by Sara Shein with 5:08 on the clock to cut their deficit to 45-52. Fourteen seconds later, as Kem was driving to the basket, she extended her left arm out and hit defender Abby Tacla in the eye. Kem was whistled for an offensive foul. The officials called a timeout to discuss the severity of the foul. They ruled it a flagrant foul and awarded the Bear Cubs two free throws and the ball. Jordan Washington made both free throws, and on the ensuing possession, she drew a shooting foul. She again put in both free throws. About a minute later Kaia Eubanks passed from the wing to Elle Picard cutting towards the key. Picard caught the ball below the free throw line and sank the 10-footer. Following a miss by the Rams, Washington got the ball near the hoop and was fouled on a shot attempt. Once more she was successful on both free throws. With 1:20 remaining, Washington banked in a 2-footer after catching the pass from Sydney Martin. The Bear Cubs continued to prevent the Rams from scoring, resulting in their 62-45 win.
The Bear Cubs made 45% of their shots (21 out of 47) and 77% of their free throws (17 out of 22). The Rams were held to 16 out of 62 (26%) and 9 out of 13 free throws (69%). Although both teams grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, the Rams only scored on one of those second chances. The Bear Cubs, on the other hand, totaled 8 points on three putbacks and a pair of free throws. Two Rams scored in double figures: Sara Shein with 14 points and Alyssa Kem 13.
Jordan Washington recorded her second double-double with 21 points, including 9 out of 11 from the free throw line, and 16 rebounds. Elle Picard and Kaia Eubanks both reached double figures with 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Caitlin Baldwin added 8 points, Shasta Vlasak 6, Sydney Martin 4, and Hailey Webb 1. Kaia Eubanks was second in rebounding with 7. Elle Picard led in assists with 4. Jordan Washington blocked 5 shots.