Riverside Tops Grossmont, 78-68, to Reach Sunday's Tournament Championship Game

RIVERSIDE -- Showing the ability to build a double-digit lead and maintain the majority of it, the host Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's basketball team kept the visiting Grossmont College Griffins at bay and won, 78-68, Saturday night (Nov. 14) in a championship semifinal game of RCC's second annual Earning Our Stripes Tournament at RCC's historic Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.

Riverside (3-1 overall) led, 22-16, at the end of the first quarter, 41-25 at halftime, and 62-46 after three stanzas. The Tigers actually enjoyed a 60-34 lead late in the third quarter before Grossmont (1-1) closed to within 71-65 with three minutes left in game.

RCC sophomore guard Jordan Lofton (Riverside / M.L. King, Jr. HS) led the Tigers with a game-high 21 points and frosh guard DoyleBonet Walker (Summit HS) added 18 markers. FRosh forward Paradise Hanchett (Rancho Verde HS) pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds, including 11 off of the defensive glass.

For Grossmont, frosh guard Courtney Branch (San Diego / Patrick Henry HS) led the Griffins with 16 points and 11 rebounds in only 20 minutes of action.

Tournament competition continues tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 15, at 12 p.m. when El Camino (last season's tournament champion) faces Glendale in the consolation championship game (fifth place). At 2 p.m., Grossmont meets Cerritos in the third-place game before Riverside hosts Santa Ana at 4 p.m. in the tournament championship game.

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