Putting the Team in Team

Rancho Cucamonga, CA -- After almost two weeks off from competition, the Citrus College Women's Basketball team returned to the hardwood on Friday night in the opening round of the 2013 Panther Pride Tournament hosted by Citrus College. The Owls had a tall task on their hand taking on SoCal #14 an undefeated Southwestern College. Every Owl that played, scored, as Citrus put the team in team in a 63-56 win over the Jaguars.

The Owls came out of the gate hot on Friday. Sophomore Jaelyn Wilson opened the game with a three from the wing, while sophomore's Taylor Jackson and Natalie Lam followed that up with a lay-up and jumper. Moments later Jackson hit the front end of two free-throws, and before Southwestern could breathe, Citrus had an 8-0 lead. Citrus would never trail in the contest, and really were never threatened until very late.

Citrus' lead would hit 14 points with just over seven minutes left in the first half when freshman Tyvette White completed a three point play, while another three point play, this time by sophomore Jasmin Longtin and a jumper from Wilson made it 31-12 with just over four minutes to go. Southwestern would try to close the gap, but the Owls still went into the break, up 14, 35-21.

In the second half, Citrus continued to keep the Jaguars at bay, pushing their lead to 20 thanks to a triple in the corner by Lam that made it 45-25 with 15:23 to go. The Owls extended their lead to as much as 23 points when freshman Jackeline Perez's put back with 7:03 to go made 53-30, but the Jaguars refused to leave with their tails between their legs.

Over the final seven minutes of the contest, Southwestern outscored Citrus 26-10. The Jaguars closed the gap to seven with 29 seconds to go, but it would never get any closer as Citrus hung on for the win.

In the win, Citrus was led by Wilson who scored a game high 14 points to go along with a game high nine rebounds. Jackson added 10 and seven assists, while White had eight points, six rebounds, two assists, and four steals.

With the win, Citrus improves to 2-2 on the year and advances to the Semi-Finals of the tournament. The Owls will get another big test when they take on State #14 and SoCal #8 Chaffey College at 6:00 PM on Chaffey's campus.