SRJC 70, Fullerton 58
For their first home game of the season, the Bear Cubs (2-1) hosted the Hornets (1-2) of Fullerton College. The Bear Cubs missed their opening shot, and then Erin Choi drove around defenders to get the visitors on the scoreboard. Abby Tacla's 3-pointer briefly put the Bear Cubs ahead until Hailey Lakey dropped in a pullup jumper. Kaia Eubanks' 6-footer and Elle Picard's steal and layup was followed by another basket by Lakey. Choi's 3-point play on a drive put the Hornets back in front, 9-7. The Bear Cubs responded with an 8-0 run on Jordan Washington's putback, Caitlin Baldwin's 3-pointer, one free throw by Sydney Martin, and her 2-footer for a 15-9 advantage with 2:17 on the clock. Lakey scored one more basket, and Shasta Vlasak drained a 3-pointer with three seconds left, making the Bear Cubs' lead 18-11 as the quarter ended.
Erin Choi scored the first basket of the second quarter. Seven seconds later Jordan Washington drew a shooting foul and made both free throws. Choi's 3-point play on a layup was followed by Kaia Eubanks' 1-footer off of Abby Tacla's assist. During the next two minutes Hailey Lakey sank a jumper, Hailey Webb was fouled on a drive and sank both free throws, Choi made another field goal, and Eubanks banked in a 1-footer off a baseline inbounds pass from Webb making the Bear Cubs' margin 26-20. The Hornets then scored 11 unanswered points to grab a 31-26 lead with 2:53 on the clock. The Bear Cubs bounced back to finish the period with an 8-0 run on four field goals by Washington, including a 10-footer with six seconds left, to go into halftime ahead 34-31.
Post player Kazey Cruz banked in a 1-footer to start the scoring in the third quarter. Seven seconds later, as in the second quarter, Jordan Washington drew a shooting foul and sank both free throws. Neither team added points until Erin Choi made two free throws at the 7:28 mark. Hailey Lakey's basket their next time down edged the Hornets ahead 37-36. Another field goal by Choi gave them a three-point lead with 6:21 on the clock. Washington made three out of four free throws on consecutive possessions to tie the score. Choi drained a 3-pointer with 5:12 left, giving them the lead again. The Bear Cubs scored the next eight points on two free throws by Caitlin Baldwin, Elle Picard's 3-pointer, Washington's drive, and her single free throw the next time on offense to retake the lead 47-42 with 2:22 left. The Hornets added one more point on a Choi free throw with 1:46 remaining. Hailey Webb's 3-pointer off of Kaia Eubanks' assist completed the scoring, with the Bear Cubs in front 50-43.
The Hornets scored the first three points of the fourth quarter on one free throw by Kazey Cruz and Erin Choi's field goal. Jordan Washington was fouled on a shot at the 8:01 mark and was successful on both free throws. After a Hornets' miss, Washington banked in a 1-footer off of Kaia Eubanks' assist. Chole Chang sank a baseline 15-footer, and then Caitlin Baldwin drained a 3-pointer off of Washington's inside-out pass. Choi got open to sink a shot on another nice move off the dribble, and then Elle Picard swished a 3-pointer off of Baldwin's pass with 5:58 on the clock, to widen the Bear Cubs' lead to 60-50. During the remainder of the period, Hailey Lakey made two field goals, Chang one free throw, and Choi a 3-pointer from the top. The Bear Cubs finished with five straight baskets by Washington, beginning with a putback and ending with a 4-foot bank shot off of Hailey Webb's assist. The Bear Cubs were able to pull away from the Hornets to earn the 70-58 win.
Although the Bear Cubs won by 12 points, their opponents were a constant threat the entire contest to overtake them. The Hornets' zone defense made it tough for the Bear Cubs to score until they were able to get the ball into Jordan Washington's hands. Erin Choi's nifty ball-handling and shot-making helped keep the Hornets close. The Bear Cubs made 24 out of 54 shots (44%), including a season-high 7 3-pointers, but turned the ball over 21 times. The Hornets sank 24 out of 70 shots (34%) with just three 3-pointers. The Bear Cubs made 15 out of 18 free throws (83%) to the Hornets' 7 out of 12 (58%). Erin Choi led the Hornets with 29 points and Hailey Lakey totaled 14.
Jordan Washington registered her third double-double with 17 rebounds and a season-high 34 points on 12 out of 15 shots and 10 out of 12 free throws. Caitlin Baldwin and Elle Picard each scored 8 points. Kaia Eubanks added 6 points, Hailey Webb 5, Abby Tacla, Shasta Vlasak, and Sydney Martin 3 each. Sydney Martin was second in rebounding with 6. Hailey Webb led in assists with 5.