Skyline upsets No. 10 San Francisco, No. 12 San Mateo beats Foothill in delayed Coast-North openers

CCCAA Women's Basketball: Scoreboard l Standings

SAN MATEO --The COVID-delayed Coast North women's basketball season finally got underway Wednesday - and the leaders rest solidly in San Mateo County.

Skyline College came back from a 44-32 halftime deficit to upset league favorite / State No. 10 City College of San Francisco, 68-64, with Malia Latu and Lala Lautaimi each scoring 20 points. No. 12 College of San Mateo defeated Foothill College, 63-55, romping away in the third quarter after a 27-26, halftime deficit - behind 16 points from Courtney Townsend and 15 from Chiara Brown.  

Skyline  (14-3, 1-0 Coast North) exploded with a 20-7 third-quarter advantage to take a 52-51 lead into the fourth quarter. TheTrojans added a 16-13 margin in the final period. Latu, the full season Coast-North scoring leader (23.3 average), also had six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Lautaimi dominated the boards with 11 rebounds and had a pair of steals. CCSF (11-5, 0-1) got 13 points from Mikayla Amoroso and a game-high 11 rebounds from Rianna Lee.

San Mateo (12-2, 1-0) led most of the game against Foothill (10-7, 0-1) but fell behind by a point on three-point basket by Gabrial Ruiz just before the mid-game break. Townsend drove for a lay-up to start the third quarter and the Lady Bulldogs never looked back, extending the margin to 44-35 entering the final period.

"We haven't played since December and it showed," said CSM coach Michelle Warner. "We've only been back practicing a week. Our defense picked up in the second half of the game."  

Brown had 15 rebounds, boosting her Coast North-leading season average to 10.1, and also had five assists. She paces the league with a 63.7 field goal average. San Mateo has a modest 3-game winning streak since losing a December non-league game to state No. 1 San Joaquin Delta (19-0), which boasts a phenomenal 41-game winning streak (dating to the unfinished 2019-20 season).

SCHEDULE: Skyline is scheduled to host Foothill in San Bruno on Friday at 7 p.m. Chabot (8-9, 1-0) also has an early share of the league lead after an 86-53 win over Ohlone (4-11, 0-1). CSM visits Ohlone Saturday at 1 p.m. – before a Wednesday, Jan. 26, 5 p.m. showdown at Skyline in San Bruno.                     # # #

(SMCCCD Sports Information)