Women's basketball mounts comeback but falls short in season opener

The Lady Cougars (0-1) struggled offensively to open the game and couldn't stop Ohlone on the other end and they trailed by the score of 25-10 at the end of the first quarter to start the game. They came out sluggish in the second quarter as well and ended scoring only seven points in the quarter and trailed 41-17 at the half.

Head Coach Derrick Jackson did his best to rally his Lady Cougars at halftime, who responded with a strong third quarter by scoring 18 points and a suffocating defensive attack to get back in the game.

Sophomore Center Saniya Walker led the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with eight block shots.

"Our team realized their potential but also the fact the need to play four quarters," said Jackson. "I was proud of how they battled back from a 33 point deficit but we cannot come out flat moving forward."

Hoping to bounced back from their loss against Ohlone, Lassen College traveled to Folsom for a preseason contest against Folsom Lake College.

The Lady Cougars got off to a decent first quarter but trailed by the score of 15-10. Folsom Lake displayed some good outside shooting as they knocked down several long range shots from the outset. It caused the Lady Cougars to switch the defense from man-to-man to a zone defense.

The change in defense didn't slow the Falcons, who led at the half 34-17.

The Lady Cougars came out strong in the third and took control in the third quarter as they outscored Folsom, 18-13 and eventually cut the lead to five points. The momentum shifted back to the Falcons who went on to defeat the Lady Cougars, 49-66.

The Lady Cougars were led in scoring by freshman guard Soleil Cariaga with 20 points. Another bright spot was Saniya Walker who had 10 points and a game high 11 blocked shots.

"We definitely have to stop turning the basketball over because we had 25 turnovers and at this level that's a lot," said Jackson.

The Lady Cougars will host Yuba College today at 2 pm at The Bob (Bob Genasci Sports Complex). Their record stands at 0-2.