The SRJC women’s basketball team won a closely contested, back and forth battle 66-59 at home vs Butte on Dec. 10.
Coming off a 55-47 win vs San Mateo on Dec. 6, the Bear Cubs looked to continue their winning ways vs Butte, hoping to extend their winning streak to four straight.
“They’re a tough team to prepare for, they are super athletic, they can score the ball all the way through one through five, so we’ve been focusing on team defense, and then offensively taking care of the ball,” head coach Lacey Campbell said.
The Bear Cubs started off strong when Ivy Gonzalez got a steal on the teams first defensive possession, then drove coast-to-coast for the layup to give the Bear Cubs the early lead.
The Bear Cubs continued to play great team defense throughout the first quarter, with strong closeouts and another forced turnover within the first two minutes.
With 5:50 left in the first quarter, Butte picked up an and-one layup to quickly swing momentum in their favor, while gaining a sudden burst of energy and confidence.
After trading baskets back and forth for a few minutes, Bear Cubs’ star Ivy Gonzalez sank a mid-range floater with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter, making the score 16-7.
The Bear Cubs held a commanding 22-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
With 5:57 left in the second quarter, the Roadrunners secured back-to-back offensive rebounds followed by a putback layup to cut the lead to 29-18, forcing the Bear Cubs to take a timeout.
Gonzalez knocked down a three-pointer from long range to beat the buzzer, giving the Bear Cubs a 44-29 lead going into halftime.
The Roadrunners immediately went on an 11-2 run to open the third quarter.
As the third quarter wound down, Butte knocked down a three to cut the lead to 52-50.
Butte went on a quick 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter, taking their first lead of the game.
With 3:31 left in the fourth quarter, Arellano assisted on a huge layup by forward Kaia Eubanks, giving the Bear Cubs the lead back, 56-55.
In the closing minutes, the Bear Cubs ran a “give and go”, allowing Gonzalez to score off an assist from Eubanks to seal the 62-56 win.
Gonzalez finished with a dominant 31 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
The Bear Cubs finished with 66 points, 49 rebounds, 14 assists, 18 turnovers, and shot 24-57 (42.1%) from the field, 7-15 (46.7%) on 3 pointers, and 11-18 (61.1%) on free throws.
The Bear Cubs will be back in action against Diablo Valley on Jan. 4.
