SRJC 75, Cosumnes River College 53

             The Bear Cubs (10-15, 5-8) took to the road to end Big 8 play at Cosumnes River College against the host Hawks (6-21, 0-13). Trinity Hawkins and Kassi Agapoff teamed up to account for the first three field goals of the game with Agapoff passing to Hawkins for the first two, and Trinity returning the favor to Kassi for the third. Lani Lincoln's 3-pointer with 6:54 on the clock put the Bear Cubs ahead 9-0. Arionna Butts drew a shooting foul 26 seconds later, putting one point on the scoreboard for the Hawks, and then following it up with a field goal. The Bear Cubs scored the next six points on one free throw by Hawkins, Lincoln's putback, and Amaya Macandog's baseline 3-pointer at the 4:10 mark to widen their lead to 15-3. Butts made two free throws and a field goal before Kierra Johnson's putback. The Hawks' post player, Kiara Jones, put in two free throws, then Hawkins banked in a putback and Lincoln swished a 3-pointer. Butts hit a 12-footer a second before the buzzer signaled the end of the period with the Bear Cubs in front 22-11.

            Arionna Butts made the Hawks' first two shots of the second quarter, the second from beyond the arc. The Hawks made two out of four free throws before Trinity Hawkins recorded the Bear Cubs' first points of the quarter on a drive at the 6:38 mark. Butts sank another 3-pointer to close the gap to 21-24 nineteen seconds later, prompting a Bear Cubs' timeout. When play resumed, the Bear Cubs made five out of their next six shots—three 3-pointers by Lani Lincoln, one 3-pointer by Lizbeth Zavala, and Trinity Hawkins' 5-footer—to jump out to a 38-21 lead with 1:44 left. Butts made one more field goal with 35 seconds remaining to put the Bear Cubs' lead at 38-23 by halftime.

            The Bear Cubs started the third quarter with Trinity Hawkins' steal and full court layup, Lani Lincoln's 6-foot floater, and Kassi Agapoff's putback. The Hawks scored their first two points of the period on a pair of free throws with 6:44 on the clock, and Butts sank a tough shot inside 24 seconds later. Hawkins hit two consecutive shots, the first a pull-up jumper from eight feet and the second a 15-foot set shot. The Hawks answered by sinking two field goals in a row. Then Lani Lincoln completed a 3-point play when she drove, dropped in a 5-foot runner, and made the and-one free throw. During the remainder of the quarter the Hawks made four out of seven free throws, Kierra Johnson sank a shot from the high post, and Hawkins banked in a putback to widen their lead to 55-35.

            The Bear Cubs scored first in the fourth quarter when Lizbeth Zavala passed across the baseline to a wide open Trinity Hawkins, who made the 1-footer. The Hawks sank two free throws, and then Lani Lincoln dropped in a 12-foot floater. The Hawks made two more free throws and a field goal. Then Trinity Hawkins sank a 2-footer and Kassi Agapoff a putback. During the next three minutes the Hawks scored two field goals and a 3-pointer, while Trinity Hawkins made two field goals and Lani Lincoln a 3-pointer. To finish off the game Butts drained a 3-pointer and made two free throws. The Bear Cubs made five out of six free throws—Kierra Johnson 2, Kassi Agapoff 1, and Amaya Macandog 2—to complete the scoring in their 75-53 win.

            The Hawks didn't have enough fire power to keep up with the Bear Cubs. Arionna Butts led all scorers with a season-high 30 points, but she was the only Hawk to score in double figures. The Hawks made only 15 out of 57 shots (26%) while the Bear Cubs made 30 out of 68 (44%). The Hawks shot 30 free throws and made 19 of them (63%). The Bear Cubs only attempted 9 free throws, making 7 of them (78%).

            Lani Lincoln posted her second consecutive double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds. She made 4 out of 7 field goal attempts and 6 out of 11 from beyond the arc. Trinity Hawkins also finished with a season-high 27 points on 13 out of 21 shooting (62%). Kassi Agapoff added 7 points, Kierra Johnson 6, Amaya Macandog 5, and Lizbeth Zavala 3. Trinity Hawkins grabbed 9 rebounds and Kierra Johnson 8. Kassi Agapoff passed for a season-high 7 assists.

            The win helped the Bear Cubs earn a #15 seed in the NorCal Play-offs. The Bear Cubs will host the #18 seeded Golden Eagles of Feather River College on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm.