3C2A Women's Basketball quarterfinals #2: Ulery, Ffrench stifle Delta as Glendale advances

WALNUT -- Malia Ulery provided the big shots and along with Shadel Ffrench did the inside work on the boards to lift Glendale College over San Joaquin Delta, 64-49, in the 3C2A State Women's Basketball quarterfinals on Friday.

Ulery, a 2-time All-State selection at guard, scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out four assists and made three steals. Ffrench, an All-State First Team center, pulled down 18 rebounds, blocked two shots, and added 10 points. Sammy Velasquez supplied the early scoring and ended up leading the Vaqueros in scoring with 22 points (7-of-7 at the free throw line).

The Vaqueros defense came up large in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Mustangs, 14-4, to break open a tight game. An Ulery three from up top 2:46 into quarter gave Glendale breathing room at 55-47. Delta made just 2-for-14 from the field in final 10 minutes partially due to an aggressive Glendale defense.

Glendale (26-4), last year's state runner-up, will face Orange Coast in the semifinals on Saturday (5 p.m.) in a rematch of the championship final.

"Malia did a great job controlling the tempo and we did a good job of handling the ball," said Glendale head coach Joel Weiss. "In the second half, we did a better job of playing defense and were more composed offensively. Both teams played super hard."

In the third period, there were three lead changes and two ties when French hit a jumper to put Glendale up 45-43 with 2:20 left. Up 47-45, Ulery made a huge play as she drove the lane and made a spin move for a basket-and-one and a 5-point Vaqueros lead going into the fourth quarter.  

In the opening quarter, Glendale led 8-0 including two layups by Ffrench, then upped it to 13-2 lead on a 3-point launch from Shushan Krikorian. Delta though rallied on a 13-0 run capped by a Fajr Cuthbertson layup. Ulery nailed a trey from the top of the arc to regain the Vaqueros lead 16-15 to finish the period.

In the second quarter, Sammy Velasquez fired up and in three 3-pointers, the third basket from the corner for a 30-23 Glendale advantage. Again, the Mustangs responded as Kiara Council netted a pair of threes to pull back ahead at 35-32 at the half.

"We never really communicated well on both sides of the floor," said Delta head coach Gina Johnson. "Glendale played well defensively, but we didn't defend well. In the fourth quarter, we couldn't execute offensively and that made the difference." 

For Delta (22-9), the All-State Third Team forward Cuthbertson did most of the work with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Council and Marcelina Chapparo each contributed six points. 

Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWBCA Publicist