SRJC 61, Folsom Lake College 50
The Bear Cubs (7-9, 3-4) hosted the Folsom Lake College Falcons (6-10, 2-5) in their final Big 8 first round game. Both teams missed their first shots and committed turnovers, with the Falcons draining a 3-pointer nearly two minutes in to start the scoring. Then when the Bear Cubs got the ball, Jasmine Henderson drew a foul as she drove to the hoop. She sank both free throws to begin a 10-0 run, which included Shayla Newman's drive, one free throw by Henderson, and five points in a row by Maddie Strom. The Falcons scored their last basket of the quarter at the 2:45 mark. Maiya Flores pulled and dropped in a 10-footer with 1:23 left, and Newman completed the scoring when she made one free throw with 25 seconds to go for a 13-5 lead.
Maiya Flores laid in the first basket of the second quarter when she drove coast to coast after pulling down the Falcons' first missed shot. The Falcons scored the next six points in less than a minute to close the gap to 11-15. The Bear Cubs responded with a 7-0 run on a 3-pointer by Jasmine Henderson, Shayla Newman's hook shot, and Britta Irvine's 10-footer. The Falcons added a pair of free throws, and Maddie Strom made a baseline move and banked in the shot with 2:45 on the clock. The Falcons sank another pair of free throws and a field goal before Maiya Flores' 3-pointer with 1:12 left put the Bear Cubs' lead at 27-17. Twenty-one second later the Falcons hit a field goal, and then Maddie Strom's 15-footer completed the Bear Cubs' scoring. The Falcons drew a shooting foul with 24 seconds remaining and made just the second free throw, leaving the Bear Cubs ahead 29-20 going into halftime.
The Bear Cubs missed their first three shots of the third quarter, then made two in a row—Jasmine Henderson's left side drive and Maiya Flores' 3-pointer—during the first two minutes. The Falcons scored a field goal with 7:46 on the clock, making the score 22-34. Flores scored on a layup on a baseline inbounds play, Maddie Strom made one of two free throws, and Lilly Orozco banked in a 1-footer before the Falcons swished a 3-pointer with 3:17 left. During the remainder of the period, the Falcons outscored their hosts 7-2 on five free throws and a field goal to put their deficit back to 9 at 32-41.
The Falcons scored a field goal on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Shayla Newman banked in a putback 25 seconds later. The Bear Cubs missed their next three shot attempts and committed turnovers in the next five minutes while the Falcons made one field goal and two free throws. Jasmine Henderson scored on an inbounds play with 4:11 on the clock to make the lead 45-38. The Falcons made one of two free throws eight seconds later. With 3:34 left Maiya Flores hit a 3-pointer after catching a long cross-court pass from Cammie Barsuglia as the shot clock got down to 5. The Falcons got the ball down low to their 6'0" post player Nicole Ayala, who scored to get to 41-48. Then Jasmine Henderson hit a big 3-pointer with 2:55 to play. The Falcons again passed in to Ayala for another 1-footer. With 1:55 left, Britta Irvine pulled down a Falcon miss and drew a foul. She made both free throws to stretch the lead to 53-43. The Falcons swished a 3-pointer just seven seconds later. After breaking the half court press, Irvine drove, stopped at the free throw line, and made the basket with 1:23 remaining. The Falcons once again got the ball to Ayala. She was fouled but didn't make the basket. She did make both free throws with 55.3 seconds to play. Maiya Flores drew a foul but missed both free throws nine seconds later. Nineteen seconds after that she rebounded a Falcon miss, was fouled, and made both free throws. The Falcons drew a foul on a drive and sank both free throws with 21.7 seconds to go. Cammie Barsuglia caught the inbound pass, was fouled, and made both free throws. Shayla Newman rebounded the Falcons' final shot, was fouled, and she too made both free throws, giving the Bear Cubs an 11-point margin of victory, 61-50.
The Bear Cubs' defensive pressure made it tough for the Falcons to score in the first half. The Falcons turned the tables on the Bear Cubs in the second half, as their half-court trapping press forced the hosts to turn the ball over 14 times. Free throws kept the Falcons close, as they made 12 out of 16 in the first three quarters, while the Bear Cubs only made 6 out of 10. In the fourth quarter the Falcons were 7 for 10 from the line, while the Bear Cubs made 8 out of 10. Nicole Ayala was the only Falcon in double figures with 14 points, including 6 out of 8 from the free throw line.
Maiya Flores finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jasmine Henderson was a solid contributor with 13 points. Maddie Strom, who made some nice post moves, ended up with 10 points. Shayla Newman added 9 points, Britta Irvine 6, Cammie Barsuglia 4, and Lilly Orozco 2. Shayla Newman grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. Britta Irvine passed for 6 assists