Heartbreaker

Glendora, CA — For the second straight game the Citrus College Women's Basketball program came back from a significant halftime deficit, and for the second straight game the Owls almost knocked off another ranked opponent. Instead Citrus was the recipient of a heartbreaker as SoCal #13 and 1st Place Santa Monica College hit a runner in the lane with 2.2 seconds left to secure a 55-54 win over the Owls.

Citrus kept place with Santa Monica throughout the first 10 minutes of the first half, even leading the Corsairs twice. Santa Monica would begin to distance themselves midway through that first half of play, going up by as much as 10 points with 49 seconds left in the half. Only a pair of free-throws with 24 seconds left rom freshman Kayla Brady would keep the Owl deficit at single digits as they went into the break trailing 23-31.

Out of the break, Citrus rallied nearly right away using a small 7-2 run to cut the Santa Monica lead to two with 15:58 to go. The Corsairs would keep the Owls at bay for next eight-plus minutes until a jumper from sophomore Bobbie Johnson gave Citrus their first lead since early in the game. Over the next five minutes the lead would change hands seven different times, with Santa Monica pulling ahead 51-48 with 1:48 to go.

That's when Citrus made their final move. Brady would find sophomore Vanessa Garcia on the top of the 3-point line where she would bury a huge trey to tie the game up at 51. After the Owls forced a Corsair turnover on their next possession, Citrus took the lead back via a lay-in from freshman Janae Chamois. Santa Monica would tie it on their next trip down the floor thanks to a pair of free-throws, but the Owls would go up by one with 14 seconds left, when Johnson was fouled in the act of shooting and hit the back end of two free-throws to make it 54-53.

Needing a stop, Citrus packed in the defense, and forced the ball out of the hands of Santa Monica's best player. Unfortunately for the Owls, another one stepped up and hit a contested runner from just inside the free-throw line that banked in off the glass and put the Corsairs back up by one with 2.2 seconds to go. Citrus ensuing lob down the floor on the inbound fell into the hands of the enemies, and as the Owls suffered the loss.

In the loss, Citrus was paced by Chamois' game high 18 points. Sophomore Tyvette White added 12, while Johnson put together a complete performance, scoring seven points, handing out seven assists, and grabbing a game high 16 rebounds.

With the loss, Citrus drops to 10-11 on the season and 3-5 in WSC South play. The Owls will try and rally on Wednesday when they travel to a peaking Glendale College for a 7:00 PM tip.