Photo by Bobby R. Hester
Photo by Bobby R. Hester

Short-Handed Women’s Basketball Cruises past Ohlone

The roster was limited for the Riverside City College women's basketball team on Friday evening as they hosted the Ohlone College Renegades on the second day of the "Earning Our Stripes" Tournament. The Tigers barreled out of the gates with a heavy dose of offense that was able to fend off a Renegade offense that nearly mounted a comeback.

The Tigers got off to a strong start by putting up 26 points to the Renegades' eight in the first half. Riverside continued to pour on the offense, but they began to get into foul trouble with only six eligible players on the roster.  Ohlone struck back and put up 21 points in the third quarter to the Tiger's mere six, but Riverside settled in down the stretch leading to an 81-69 win.

Riverside shot 49.2 from the floor that featured a season-high 57.1 percent from downtown. Tigers limited turnovers by coughing the rock up 11 times to Ohlone's 19. They capitalized off Ohlone's sloppy offense as they scored 16 points off turnovers.

Leading the way was sophomore point guard Alyssa Serna who flushed a career-high 22 points. She was deadly in the midrange as seen in a 9-for-15 shooting mark. She flirted with a double-double as she dished out seven assists and hauled in five rebounds.

In her first-career start, freshman guard Shannon Jordan shinned by recording 20 points on a 6-for12 shooting night. She was two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight assists. She added three rebounds in the process. Freshman Neiya Hamilton only shot a pair of three balls and hit one of them. She finished with 15 points and seven assists.

The bench brigade consisted of one person – freshman guard Ayanna Bourgeois. She entertained a double-double by knocking down 14 points and reeling in eight rebounds.