SRJC 69, Laney College 56
The Bear Cubs (3-2) hosted the Eagles (4-0) of Laney College on a rainy Friday evening. The Bear Cubs got on the scoreboard first after just 18 seconds, when Kaia Eubanks was fouled on a shot attempt near the basket and made one of two free throws. Tali Fa'i sank the Eagles' first shot 18 seconds after that. Shasta Vlasak scored on a drive, Fa'i swished a 3-pointer, and then Eubanks caught Lindsey Arellano's 35-foot pass next to the basket, pump-faked, and banked in the 1-footer, tying the score at 5-5 at the 7:17 mark. Milan Jackson's 3-point play on the Eagles' next possession put them ahead for the last time in the quarter. The Bear Cubs scored nine unanswered points on one free throw by Ivy Gonzalez, her swooping underhand shot, Eubanks' fast break layup off of Hailey Webb's assist, Cece Solano's putback of her own miss, and Sydney Martin's 5-footer to jump out to a 14-8 lead with 1:49 on the clock. The Eagles put in the next three points on one free throw by Adrienne Blackwell and a layup by Fa'i. Webb drew a shooting foul with three seconds left and made both free throws to give the Bear Cubs a 16-11 lead by the end of the quarter.
Kaia Eubanks dropped in a 7-footer off of Sydney Martin's assist 61 seconds into the second quarter. Leniyah Fulsome scored a field goal 12 seconds later. Martin made two baskets in a row, the first on a drive from the wing and the second on a 1-footer off of Shasta Vlasak's assist with 7:41 on the clock, widening the Bear Cubs' lead to 22-13. The Eagles scored six points on a layup by Tali Fa'i and two field goals by Fulsome to cut their deficit to 19-22 at the 2:59 mark. Twenty seconds after that Cece Solano pulled off a successful low post move. The Eagles banked in three layups in row before Ivy Gonzalez's 4-foot pull-up jumper with 1:29 left got the Bear Cubs back in front 26-25. The Eagles made two more layups to take a 29-26 lead into halftime.
Kaia Eubanks again scored first to start the third quarter when she pulled down a defensive rebound and drove coast-to-coast before banking in the layup. Seventy seconds later Ivy Gonzalez drew a shooting foul and sank both free throws. The next time down on offense, she drained a 3-pointer from the wing off of Lindsey Arellano's assist. The Eagles inbounded the ball, and after three seconds, the Laney coach was assessed with a Technical Foul for inappropriate comments to the officials. Gonzalez went to the free throw line and again made both free throws, putting the Bear Cubs in front 35-29 at the 7:46 mark. Leniyah Fulsome added the Eagles' first two points of the quarter with 6:14 on the clock. Gonzalez scored on an up-and-under shot on the Bear Cubs' next possession. After Milan Jackson swished a 3-pointer with 3:59 left, Hailey Webb made a back door cut, caught Cece Solano's pass from the high post, and scored the basket. Keytona Ross put in a field goal on the Eagles' next turn on offense, cutting their deficit to 36-39. Gonzalez swished another 3-pointer and two more free throws to get the Bear Cubs' lead to 44-36 with 1:25 remaining. The Eagles scored the final point of the period on one free throw by Nomen Iselen with 13 seconds left, making the Bear Cubs' advantage 44-37.
After a Bear Cub miss to start the fourth quarter, Leniyah Fulsome sank a field goal. Kaia Eubanks was fouled attempting a shot and went to the free throw line where she made both shots. Then Fulsome drew a shooting foul and made her two free throws. During the next three minutes the Bear Cubs made four shots in a row—Ivy Gonzalez's 8-footer and her 1-footer off of Sydney Martin's assist, Martin's 6-footer off of Gonzalez's assist and her 3-pointer off of Kaia Eubanks' assist—while the Eagles scored on Keytona Ross' basket and Madison Hill's 3-pointer, for a 55-46 Bear Cub lead. Both teams missed shots until Martin made a baseline cut and caught Lindsey Arellano's assist next to the hoop with 2:33 on the clock. Erin Gardere drained a 3-pointer 18 seconds later. Kaia Eubanks' drive down the middle of the key from the free throw line with 1:52 left put the Bear Cubs ahead 59-49. The Eagles added the next four points on back-to-back baskets by Fulsome and Tali Fa'i. Lindsey Arellano drew a foul and made just the first free throw. After an Eagles' miss, Sydney Martin pulled down the rebound and was fouled. She made the first free throw but not the second. Fortunately, Ivy Gonzalez grabbed the rebound and put in the 3-footer, getting the lead up to 63-53 with 57 seconds to go. Following another miss by the Eagles, Martin again was fouled after grabbing the rebound. This time she made both free throws. Gonzalez repeated this scenario 20 seconds later. Erin Gardere registered the Eagles' final three points on a shot from beyond the arc with 22 seconds remaining. Gonzalez was fouled one last time and she made both free throws to cap the Bear Cubs' 69-56 upset victory.
The Bear Cubs played their best game of the season against one of the toughest teams in the North. The Eagles had come into the contest averaging 80 points per game, so the Bear Cubs' defense did their part while their offense took care of the ball well enough to prevent their opponents from making multiple steals and easy baskets. The Bear Cubs lost their game against City College of San Francisco, in part, due to their inability to make free throws, as they only made 5 out of 15. Against the Eagles, the Bear Cubs won the game by making their free throws. They made a season-high 20 out of 24. The Eagles only shot 10 free throws, making 5 of them. Five Eagles had been averaging more than 10 points per game. Only Leniyah Fulsome (16 points) and Tali Fa'i (11) reached double figures.
Ivy Gonzalez led the Bear Cubs with her second double-double. She scored 29 points, 24 coming in the second half, and a career-high 16 rebounds with 10 of those in the second half. She missed her first free throw of the game then made all of her next 11. Sydney Martin almost had a double-double with a season-high 16 points and 9 rebounds. Kaia Eubanks also reached double figures with 13 points. Hailey Webb and Cece Solano each added 4 points, Shasta Vlasak 2, and Lindsey Arellano 1. Lindsey Arellano led in assists with 4.