SRJC 44, Cosumnes River College 55
Friday night the Bear Cubs (15-7, 6-4) hosted the Hawks (12-12, 5-7) of Cosumnes River College on Play4Kay Night to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Aujanai Barnett sank a field goal in the first twenty-seven seconds of the contest. Kaia Eubanks' putback at the 7:57 mark got the Bear Cubs on the scoreboard. The Hawks sank two 3-pointers and four field goals before Kaia Eubanks hit a 16-footer with 1:43 on the clock, cutting the visitors' lead to 4-16. The Bear Cubs scored three more points on one free throw by Eubanks and Cece Solano's shot from the high post. LaKayla Hale's field goal two seconds before the buzzer made their lead 18-7.
Ivy Gonzalez put in the first two points of the second quarter on a pair of free throws. Fifty seconds later Kaia Eubanks tossed in a right-handed over-the-shoulder shot from just outside the key. After a miss by the Hawks, Lindsey Arellano grabbed the defensive rebound, dribbled out and passed ahead to Shasta Vlasak, who then passed to a sprinting Eubanks next to the hoop for an uncontested layup. Saray White's 3-pointer at the 7:02 mark made their lead 21-13. A little over two minutes later, Antonia Gutierrez-Cathey swished a 3-pointer, and twenty-two seconds after that Lindsey Arellano did the same thing. Kaia Eubanks' 3-footer off of Sydney Martin's assist got the Bear Cubs within six, 18-24, with 4:04 on the clock. During the remainder of the period, White made two more field goals, while Gonzalez was successful on four free throw attempts, leaving the Hawks ahead 28-22 going into halftime.
The Hawks added the first five points of the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Aujanai Barnett and a basket by MyLeia Campbell. Kaia Eubanks scored the next four points on two free throws and a 6-foot turnaround shot with 7:38 on the clock. Nearly four scoreless minutes passed before Saray White drained a 3-pointer and then a field goal a minute later for a 38-26 advantage. Ivy Gonzalez hit an 8-foot jumper with 1:42 left. LaKayla Hale and White each sank a 3-pointer before Gonzalez also made one from beyond the arc to end the quarter with the Hawks holding a 44-31 lead.
Betzie Hernandez took the first shot of the fourth quarter and swished the 3-pointer. Hailey Webb pulled down an offensive rebound in traffic, dribbled out, and then back in to toss in the 2-footer. In less than a minute Aujanai Barnett made two field goals in a row, followed by LaKayla Hale's basket to widen the Hawks' margin to 50-36 at the 7:28 mark. In the next five minutes MyLeia Campbell scored on a putback and Hale made one free throw, while Hailey Webb, Sydney Martin, and Lindsey Arellano each sank one free throw and Ivy Gonzalez two. Gonzalez drained a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left, and Ariel Bailey banked in a 1-footer with 10 seconds to go, making the final score 55-44 in favor of the Hawks.
The Bear Cubs played well defensively, holding the Hawks to nine points less than their average. But offensively they had a horrible shooting night, as they made only 13 out of 59 shots (22%), including 4 out of 21 (19%) from 3-point land. The Hawks made 23 out of 60 shots (38%), including eight 3-pointers. The Bear Cubs made 14 out of 22 free throws (64%), while only sending the Hawks to line twice, where they made just one out of four. Three Hawks entered the contest averaging over 10 points per game, but only Saray White reached double figures with 22 points.
Ivy Gonzalez made only 3 out of 20 shots (15%) but all eight of her free throws for 16 points. Her team-leading 12 rebounds constituted her eighth double-double. Kaia Eubanks also scored in double figures with 15 points. Lindsey Arellano added 4 points, Betzie Hernandez and Hailey Webb 3 each, Cece Solano 2, and Sydney Martin 1. Sydney Martin and Kaia Eubanks
each pulled down 8 rebounds. Shasta Vlasak led in assists with three and came up with three steals.