Posted: Feb 13, 2015
Riverside Avenges Loss; Wins, 71-66, over visiting Saddleback Thursday
Saddleback
(13-15, 4-7 OEC)
66
Riverside
(17-10, 6-5 OEC)
71
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback (13-15, 4-7 OEC) | 38 | 28 | 66 |
|
Riverside (17-10, 6-5 OEC) | 32 | 39 | 71 |
RIVERSIDE -- If there ever was a game this season that showed the mettle of the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's basketball team, Thursday's game was it.
Riverside avenged an earlier Orange Empire Conference (OEC) road loss in Mission Viejo (Jan. 21) with a thrilling come-from-behind 71-66 home win over the visiting Saddleback College Gauchos Thursday night (Feb. 12) at RCC's legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.
The win for Riverside (17-10, 6-5 OEC) clinched no worse than a third-place OEC finish for the Tigers.
The Tigers trailed by as many as ten points (21-11) at the 11:36 mark of the first half as Saddleback led, 38-32, at halftime. RCC took a 49-47 lead on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Tierra Fuqua (Moreno Valley / Rancho Verde HS) with 12:40 left.
Undaunted, Saddleback (13-15, 4-7 OEC) forged a 58-51 lead thanks, mostly, on back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore guard Emily Cox with 10:15 and 9:44, respectively, to play.
But Fuqua willed the Tigers back into the lead at 62-61 on a three-pointer of her own with 4:04 left and then added a fastbreak layin for a 64-61 RCC lead at the 3:36 mark. Another driving layin by Fuqua, this one with thee minutes to play gave RCC a 66-61 lead.
Of course, it didn't help Saddleback's cause when it made only six of 15 free throws for the bulk of the second half and only eight of 19 charities in the final canto.
Fuqua finished with a game-high (and season-high-tying) 32 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Tamara Herring (Riverside / Citrus Hill HS), who had missed the last three games with an injury, chipped in with 12 points. Frosh guard Jordan Lofton (Riverside / M.L. King HS) added 11 points and sophomore center Tori Mitchell (Riverside / Poly HS) added ten points and a co-team-high eight boards.
For Saddleback, Cox led with 25 points on nine field goals (six three-point baskets) and one free throw. Sophomore forward Danielle Munson added 15 markers and ten rebounds, and frosh forward Shatiana Daniels had 11 points and a game-high 11 points.
It was RCC's final home game of the regular season.
Both teams will have a bye next week, as well as one remaining OEC game. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Saddleback will host the Orange Coast College Pirates at 7 p.m., while RCC will have a bye. On Friday, Feb. 20, RCC will visit the Santa Ana College Dons at 7 p.m. while Saddleback will have a bye.
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