Shorthanded Owls Fall Again at Canyons

Santa Clarita, CA -- With their top two scorers still sidelined due to injury, the Citrus College Women's Basketball team had another tall order on Saturday evening when they went on the road to take on perennial conference contender College of the Canyons. The Owls gave it their best go, but fell 68-54.

Citrus was competitive out of the gate, taking an early 4-3 lead after a lay-up from sophomore Ariana Caffey. The two teams would trade the lead back and forth a few more times, before Citrus snatched it back at 8-7 after a jumper from sophomore Nicole Zugasti made it 8-7. A free-throw from freshman Jaelyn Wilson made it 9-7 Citrus, but that would be the last time they would lead in the game.

Canyons would use a 14-2 run that saw their lead swell to 10 point with 9:12 left in the first half. The Cougars' largest lead of the half would come with just under four minutes to go when they made it 33-12. The Owls would close the half with a mini 5-2 run, but Canyons would score the final tow points of the half as they led 35-17 at the break.

The second half would be fairly close throughout. Citrus continued to try and chop away at the Canyons lead, but the Cougars were able to keep Citrus at arm's length. The closest the Owls would get it early would be 13 after another jumper from Zugasti with just over 12 minutes left on the clock. Canyons' lead never dropped below that the rest of the way.

In the loss, Citrus was led by Zugasti who scored a season high and grabbed a game high nine rebounds. Caffey added nine and four assists, while freshman Natalie Lam had eight points, six boards, three assists, and three steals.

With the loss, Citrus falls to 11-7 on the year and 0-2 in Western State Conference South Division play. The Owls' job won't get any easier this coming week. Citrus will host the current conference leader LA Valley College on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM in the Owls' Nest.