Sporting Tigers Cruise to 69-50 Win over visiting MiraCosta

RIVERSIDE -- Playing together from start to finish and not taking advantage of its opponents which had a depleted roster, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's basketball team defeated the MiraCosta College (MCC) Spartans, 69-50, in a Saturday (Nov. 15) matinee nonconference game at RCC's historic Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.

Riverside (3-1 overall), which never trailed, snapped a 2-2 tie with a 7-0 run and built a 15-4 lead only six minutes into the game. The Tigers built a big lead of 39-17 with 1:31 to play before settling for a 41-22 margin at halftime.

MiraCosta (0-3 overall) which had only six players available, went with five players for the last 16 minutes of the first half and the first 16 minutes of the second half for approximately 32 minutes with no substitutions. Frosh guard Jessica Ramirez started, but then sustained an injury four minutes into the game.

Down the stretch, the Spartans encountered some foul trouble and played with four players beginning at the 3:35 mark and then were down to three healthy bodies for the final 2:54.

RCC head coach Alicia Berber offered to continue the game with four Tigers, but was denied by the officials.

RCC sophomore center Tori Mitchell (Riverside / Poly '12) poured in a team-high 19 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward Ashley Davis (Riverside / John W. North HS) chipped in with 12 markers for the Tigers. Sophomore point guard Tierra Fuqua (Moreno Valley / Rancho Verde HS) dished out a season-high ten assists and added eight points and seven rebounds for Riverside.

For MiraCosta (yes, with a capital "C" in the middle), sophomore guard Brogan Griffin (San Clemente / Carlsbad HS) pumped in a game-high 22 points in 40 minutes of action, while frosh guard Erica Windham added 13 points in 32 minutes. Sophomore guard Rachel Lisk (Carlsbad / Carlsbad HS) added nine points, six rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes.

The Tigers return to action on Thursday, Nov. 20, when they face the College of the Sequoias Giants at 4 p.m. in an opening round game of the three-day, eight-team Santa Barbara City College MTXE Tournament.

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