SRJC 47, West Los Angeles College 55
This year City College of San Francisco's Golden Gate Classic is comprised of just six teams instead of the usual eight. Each of the three teams from the South—East Los Angeles College, West Los Angeles College, and Los Angeles Valley College—would play a different team from the North—Sierra College, Santa Rosa Junior College, and City College of San Francisco—on three consecutive days, December 19-21.
The Bear Cubs (7-2) opened the tournament against the taller Wildcats (5-5) of West L.A. The Wildcats won the tipoff, and quickly sank an 18-footer. Nearly a minute later, Ivy Gonzalez tied the score with two free throws. Alana Young's layup following a steal near her basket put the Wildcats back in front. Over a minute after that Kaia Eubanks drew a shooting foul and made just the first free throw. Wildcats center Fama Diagna, with a four-inch height advantage over the Bear Cubs' tallest player, banked in a 2-footer at the 6:03 mark. The Bear Cubs responded with 10 unanswered points on Eubanks' two free throws and a 2-footer off of Gonzalez's assist, and three pullup jumpers by Gonzalez to take a 13-6 lead with 1:44 left. One free throw by Aliyah Young with 1:31 on clock completed the scoring in the quarter with the Bear Cubs ahead 13-7.
Kaia Eubanks scored the first two points of the second quarter on a pair of free throws. Aliyah Young made a basket with 8:34 on the clock. The Bear Cubs tallied the next six points on Ivy Gonzalez's 6-foot pullup jumper, Eubanks's steal and full court layup, and Gonzalez's putback at the 5:21 mark for a 21-9 lead. Kennedee Rankin sank two free throws, and Ivy Gonzalez swished a 3-pointer. Aliyah Young made her two free throws, and then Shasta Vlasak drained a 3-pointer. Alana Young's successful short shot with 1:34 left was followed by Gonzalez's 19-footer on a baseline inbounds pass from Hailey Webb. Taiana Muagututia's field goal with 40 seconds remaining cut the Bear Cubs' lead to 29-17 going into halftime.
The Wildcats switched to a trapping zone defense in the third quarter, and they also started to click offensively, tying the score at 29-29 with 3:58 on the clock. After missing their first seven shots, the Bear Cubs finally scored when Cele Urzua swished a shot from beyond the arc at the 3:10 mark. Kaia Eubanks went to the free throw line with 2:18 left and made just the second free throw. Bahiyjaui Allen sank her third field goal eight seconds later. Ivy Gonzalez's 3-pointer with 1:46 left put the Bear Cubs ahead 36-31. Allen drew a shooting foul on the Wildcats' next possession. She made the first free throw, missed the second, then got her own rebound and banked in the 1-footer to get within two points at 34-36. With 16 seconds left, Gonzalez was fouled on a shot attempt and made just the second free throw, putting the Bear Cubs' lead at 37-34 by the end of the quarter.
Alana Young banked in a close shot on the Wildcats' first possession of the fourth quarter. The Bear Cubs missed their first three shots before Kaia Eubanks' 3-point play on a low post move. Isabelay Ferguson made a basket 20 seconds later. Over a minute after that, Sydney Martin scored on a drive from the high post. The Wildcats put together an 11-0 run to jump out in front 49-42 with 3:18 on the clock. Sydney Martin finally broke their scoreless streak when she was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2:49 left. She made the first two free throws. On the Bear Cubs' next time on offense, Ivy Gonzalez drew a shooting foul. She made the first free throw but not the second. With 1:14 to go, Martin cut down the lane, caught Kaia Eubanks' assist from the wing, and banked in the layup, closing the gap to 47-48. The Bear Cubs missed their next shot attempt and were forced to foul. Aliyah Young went to the free throw line three times in final 16 seconds of the contest, as the Bear Cubs turned the ball over instead of getting shots off, and she made all six free throws, resulting in the Wildcats' 55-47 victory.
The Wildcats used their size and quickness advantage to outscore the Bear Cubs 38-18 during the second half of the contest. Although the Bear Cubs made 6 out of 15 shots (40%) in the second quarter, they struggled to make shots in the other three periods and only made 15 out of 54 (28%) for the game. The Bear Cubs' 20 turnovers also played a big part in their lack of scoring. Two Wildcats reached double figures in scoring: Aliyah Young with 24 and Bahiyjaui Allen with 11.
Ivy Gonzalez posted her fifth double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Kaia Eubanks contributed 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. Sydney Martin scored 6 points but grabbed 13 rebounds. Cele Urzua and Shasta Vlasak were the only other Bear Cubs to put points on the scoreboard, as they each sank one 3-pointer.