SRJC 71, San Joaquin Delta College 53

​Two days after Christmas the Bear Cubs (10-2) began Big 8 Conference play by hosting the defending champion Mustangs (8-3) of San Joaquin Delta College. These two teams had already faced one another in the championship game of Delta's own tournament on November 2. The Mustangs totally dominated that game and won by a final score of 62-42. Tonight's contest began with missed shots by both teams during the opening two minutes. Isabella Azzolino put the first two points on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws at the 7:57 mark. Thirty seconds later, Jordan Washington's putback tied the score. Fajr Cuthbertson answered with a driving layup through the key past defenders. A minute after that Kaia Eubanks hit a 3-footer at the end of a short drive. With 4:37 on the clock, Aaliyah Youngblood made a field goal. Thirty-one seconds after that Sydney Martin's corner 3-pointer after catching a pass from Eubanks put the Bear Cubs in front 7-6. The next time down Eubanks banked in a 1-footer off of Elle Picard's assist. Azzolino swished two 3-pointers in row to give the Mustangs a 12-9 lead, prompting a Bear Cub timeout. The Bear Cubs scored the final five points of the quarter on Martin's 2-footer off of Shasta Vlasak's assist and Hailey Webb's 3-pointer off of Abby Tacla's assist to go in front 14-12.

​La Ne' Dunn's field goal in the second minute of the second quarter tied the score. Abby Tacla's single free throw, Kaia Eubanks' 6-foot turnaround shot, and Sydney Martin's 4-footer on a baseline inbounds pass from Hailey Webb got the Bear Cubs to 19-14 at the 6:14 mark. Isabella Azzolino drained another 3-pointer 20 seconds later. Eubanks' 2-footer off of Webb's assist and Martin's 3-pointer off of Eubanks' pass pushed their lead to 24-17 with 4:53 on the clock. Aaliyah Youngblood made two steals in a row that resulted in layups, and then Marcelina Chaparro scored on a drive to get the Mustangs within a point. Eubanks banked in a 1-footer off of Martin's assist, Youngblood made another field goal, and then Martin swished a 3-pointer with 2:04 left. Youngblood sank one more basket and Webb swished a 3-pointer to complete the scoring, as the Bear Cubs took a 32-27 lead into halftime.

​The Mustangs scored two quick field goals in the first 27 seconds to start the third quarter. The Bear Cubs made seven out of nine shots—Elle Picard's 3-pointer, Jordan Washington's 8-footer on a baseline inbounds pass from Picard, Abby Tacla's 2-footer at the end of a fast break pass from Washington, Kaia Eubanks' 1-footer off of Tacla's assist, Washington's drive from the mid-post, Picard's full-court press-breaking layup, and Sydney Martin's 2-footer off of Washington's assist for a 3-point play—to jump out to a 48-36 advantage with 3:07 on the clock. The Bear Cubs tallied the last point of the quarter when Washington made one free throw, to stretch their lead to 49-36.

​The Bear Cubs added the first six points of the fourth quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Caitlin Baldwin and Sydney Martin. Aaliyah Youngblood scored on a drive, and then Kaia Eubanks sank a 4-foot turnaround shot. Youngblood drew a shooting foul and made just the second free throw. Hailey Webb drained a 3-pointer at the 6:02 mark for a 60-39 margin. Nearly two minutes later, Jakayla Gilmer drove in to score. Their next time down, Youngblood was fouled again and this time made both free throws. Jordan Washington hit a 2-footer off of Webb's assist, followed by Elle Picard's 3-pointer with 2:54 left. The Mustangs finished up with two 3-pointers by Marcelina Chaparro, and one layup each by Gilmer and La Ne' Dunn. The Bear Cubs scored six more points on Sydney Martin's reverse pivot low post move, her two free throws, and Washington's1-footer after catching Webb's pass for a final score of 71-53.

​The Mustangs came into the game averaging 70.9 points per game. The Bear Cubs' defense held them 53 points on 27% shooting (21 out of 78), including 5 for 26 (19%) from 3-point land, and 6 for 12 at the free throw line. Although the Bear Cubs committed 25 turnovers, they were more accurate than their opponents from the field, as they made 28 out of 52 (54%) of their shots, including 10 out of 16 from beyond the arc. Two Mustangs reached double figures in scoring: Aaliyah Youngblood with 17 and Isabella Azzolino with 12.

​Sydney Martin came off the bench when Jordan Washington got into foul trouble early in the second quarter, and played her best game to date, scoring a career-high 23 points, including making four out of five from beyond the arc. Kaia Eubanks also scored in double figures again with 14 points. Jordan Washington, who played limited minutes, still recorded her tenth double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Hailey Webb added 9 points, Elle Picard 8, Abby Tacla and Caitlin Baldwin 3 each. Sydney Martin was second in rebounding with 8. Kaia Eubanks led in assists with 5. Jordan Washington blocked 6 shots.