Moore scores 29 to help lift Sierra to semifinal berth with 94-75 win over Irvine Valley

Photo by Felix Cortez
Photo by Felix Cortez
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Team Stats

March 8, 2018

Tournament Central

VENTURA, Calif. - Bri Moore notched a game-high 29 points and Sierra College gave Northern California teams their third win in as many games on Thursday as the Wolverines pulled away after halftime to beat Irvine Valley, 94-75, in the California Community College Athletic Association Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinals at Ventura College.

Sierra (30-1), the top seed from the north, trailed Irvine Valley (26-5), the fourth seed from the south, by a 37-36 halftime score but turned on the afterburners in the third and fourth quarters by outscoring the Lasers 58-38. The Wolverines' victory joined ones Merced and Fresno to keep the north** perfect against the south 

Moore, a sophomore from Stockton, hit 11 of 29 shots, finished just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds, and added six steals and five assists. She showed balanced scoring throughout the game, tallying nine points in both the second and fourth quarters, eight in the first and three points in the third.

Shanel Jamison scored 24 points and had four steals for Sierra while Alycee Willis contribute 18 points, most of them coming from the free throw line where she went 11 for 12. Kasey Smit put up a double-double for the Lasers, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end. Lexi Vail (16), Elizabeth Garcia (15), Cydnie Danan (14) and Mary Dishoian (11) also reached double-figures in scoring.

The Wolverines jumped out to a quick 13-8 lead  and then stretched it to 17-8 with three minutes left in the first quarter when Aycee Willis put in a layup. Sierra led 21-15 after the first quarter but was outscored 22-15 in the next period to go down by a point at half. Smit was key in that big rally by Irvine Valley, making 6 of 7 shots and scoring 13 points.

Taylor Avila hit a trey in the early seconds of the third quarter for Sierra, giving it a 39-37 lead. The Wolverines would not trail the rest of the game although a layup and three-pointer by Vail knotted the game, 42-42. Jamison's layup capped a 13-3 run that gave Sierra its biggest lead, 55-44, late in the period and Sierra stayed in control the remainder of the game. Jamison had 10 points in the third quarter for the Wolverines.

Sierra scored 29 points in each of the final two quarters and held a 42-32 advantage in points in the paint.