Women’s Basketball: Owls Lose Game of Inches

Glendora, CA - Most often the saying "game of inches" is used in reference to the game of football, where winning and losing in the trenches can determine a games outcome. The saying may be appropriate for Wednesday night's women's basketball game in the Owls' Nest as well, as it felt like the Citrus College Women's Basketball team came up just short. The Owls were outscored by a measly point in each of the first four quarters in a 53-57 setback to visiting West Los Angeles College. 

Citrus would run out to an early lead in the opening quarter. Sophomore Jailene Rosas started things off with back-to-back triples. West LA would get on the board with a jumper, but Citrus scored the next six points, extending their lead to 12-2 after a jumper by freshman Julie Garcia Man. After jumping out to the early lead, the Citrus offense went cold for a five minute stretch that allowed the Wildcats get back into the game. West LA would eventually take a 16-12 lead in the first, with only a three by sophomore Malia (Rocha) Ili in the waning seconds would keep it a one point deficit. 

The second quarter would see some back and forth action. The quarter saw six lead changes in the first seven minutes. Citrus' last lead would come with 4:12 left in the half, after a jumper by freshman Samantha Villa off a pass from Rosas that made it 25-24. The Wildcats would use a 5-0 spurt to jump back in front, but the Owls would claw their way back in tying the game up at 29 all after Ili hit the front end of two free-throws. Only a last second layup by the Wildcats would give them a 31-29 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, West LA would run out to their biggest lead, going up by seven points twice in the first two minutes. Despite the early jump, Citrus didn't back down. The Owls kept clawing their way back into the contest, using the next six minutes to pull within a single point after a steal by Villa led to a layup by Ili made it 45-46 with just over a minute to play. West LA would answer on the next possession, and the two schools would trade empty trips down the floor in the final seconds as the game entered the final frame with West LA leading 48-45. 

Citrus would keep things close in the fourth quarter, but could never pull ahead. Villa would come up big again for the Owls when she hit a jumper with 2:18 to go to make it 53-54. Unfortunately for Citrus, that was the final score of the game for them as West LA was able to convert a lay-up and one free-throw to keep the Owls at bay.

In the loss, Citrus was led by Garcia Man who scored a career and game high 19 points. She also added seven rebounds, four steals, and a pair of assists. Ili, who faced double-teams for much of the final three quarters, finished with 12 points, seven more rebounds, and four assists. Rounding out the superlatives was sophomore Kaylene Brown who finished just shy of a double-double with nine points, three blocks, and a career and game high 12 rebounds. 

With the loss, Citrus drops to 3-14 overall and 0-3 in WSC South play. Citrus will be back at home on Saturday afternoon when they host Santa Monica College for a 3:00 PM tip.