Short Handed Squad Powers past Santa Ana

The Riverside City College women's basketball team hit the road on Wednesday night to face off against the Santa Ana College Dons in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action. Two players earned 20 plus points with sophomore forward Maxine Najera posting a massive double-double leading to a 65-56 win.

Nejera was all the Tigers needed as seen in a 24 point, 12 rebound showing. Her total was a career high mark and her sixth double-double on the year. She has landed in double-digit rebounds in seven games this season and was able to tally a double-double in six of them. She was two points shy of a double-double in mid-January.

The starting lineup contributed all but two points to the score with freshman N'Dya Parks flushing 20 points on a 9-for-18 shooting clip. She added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals as well.

Sophomore forward Mya Clark earned her second start of the season and bucketed 11 points and eight rebounds to flirt with a double-double. She was 5-for-7 from the field. Sophomore guard Ashley Smith tallied a season-high 35 minutes and dropped six points to go along with a career-high 12 boards.

As a team, Riverside racked up 57 rebounds to dominate the glass. Santa Ana had a mere 35 rebounds while coughing up the ball 17 times. Riverside transformed those turnovers into 24 points.

It was a lowly shooting night as seen in a 33.8 mark from the hardwood. However, 34 points in the paint and 19 second-chance opportunities kept the Dons at bay.

The Tigers currently sit in third place in conference with four games remaining in the regular season.