Siskiyous downs East L.A. to gain CCCAA Tourney semifinal berth

Tournament Central

LIVERMORE, Calif. - Hannah Thompson scored 36 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, as College of the Siskiyous broke from a 58-58 deadlock after three periods to score a 93-81 mild upset over state No. 2 ranked East Los Angeles College in the California Community College Athletic Association women's basketball quarterfinals Friday afternoon at Las Positas College.

Eighth ranked Siskiyous (30-1) takes the best record in the state into Saturday's 5 p.m. semifinal against the winner of Thursday's late College of the Sequoias-Palomar game. South Coast North Conference co-champion East LA saw its winning streak end at 11 games while the Golden Valley champion Eagles increased their skein to 28 games.

With Tifani Martinez scoring 14 of her 22 points in the first half, East LA (28-3) led, 46-40, at the beak before the state's highest scoring team (96.6 points per game) started the second half with a seven-point run for a 47-46 lead.

"We've been putting up big numbers in the third quarter," said long-time Siskiyous coach Tom Powers. "Thompson is a great shooter."

Siskiyous took the lead for good at the outset of the final period with back-to-back lay-ups by guard Melissa Dailey. The score had been tied seven times and there were six lead changes. 

Thompson came into the game as the No. 2 scorer in the state with a 24.9 average – behind teammate Dailey (26.2) – providing a 51-point average between them. Dailey didn't disappoint, adding 25 points in the game, including a trio of three's – and had seven assists. The two sophomores from Oregon combined for 61 points. Thompson was 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, had four assists and three steals. Guard Megan Dailey added 15 points. Teammate Destinee Jones was the game's top rebounder with 12 grabs. 

Katina Reeves led East LA with 23 points and had eight rebounds, while teammate Monica Garcia grabbed ten off the boards. 

East Los Angeles had won 11 in a row since its only loss of 2017, to top-ranked Mt. San Antonio on Jan. 18 in a South Coast Conference game. They shared the conference title. 

Siskiyous extended its state leading winning streak to 28 games, the lone loss coming at home on Nov. 11 to Sierra College. 

(Compiled by Fred Baer, College of San Mateo sports information)