The Spoilers

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Women's Basketball team got to play the role of the spoilers on Wednesday evening when they played host to visiting Antelope Valley College. The Marauders had won five straight, and sat just a game back of first place in the WSC South race, no doubt with visions of a conference title and playoff berths in their heads. The Owls put a dent in that plan, taking a seven point halftime lead and hanging on for a 55-52 victory.

Antelope was the first to step up on Wednesday night, jumping out to an 8-5 lead. Citrus kept it close early on though and snagged it's first lead after a three from freshman Janae Chamois and a pair of free-throws via sophomore Tyvette White. The Marauders would tie the game back up at 10 all, but Citrus kept Antelope at arms length, going up by as much as nine points after a trey from sophomore Vanessa Garcia made it 21-12 with 4:32 to go.

The Marauders would get it back down to three with 2:54 to go, but the Owls close the half on a 6-2 run, getting another Garcia trey, two more free-throws from White, and the front end of two free-throws from sophomore Bobbie Johnson to make it 27-18. Only a jumper in the lane by Antelope Valley with 12 seconds left in the half, kept the game within a seven point striking distance headed into halftime.

Out of the break, Antelope charged hard. The Marauders scored eight of the first ten points of the half and pulled to within one at 28-29. The Owls would still manage to cling to their lead though, until just over the midway point in the half when a pair of free-throws gave Antelope their first lead since early on 41-39.

Antelope held on to the lead for all of two minutes as a jumper by Johnson and three of four free-throws from Chamois made it 44-43 back in favor of the Owls with 5:07 to go. The Marauders would tie the game back up against at 44, but got a big three from Garcia to give themselves a smidgen of breathing room.

The Marauders would twice get to within one in the final 2:48 of the game, including trailing 52-53 with 41 seconds to play, but the Owls buckled down and got defensive stops and got two crucial free-throws from Chamois with 15 seconds left to seal the win 55-52.

Chamois led all scorers on the night with 23 points. Garcia added 12, while White chipped in with 13 off the bench.  Johnson tied for the game's lead in rebounds with 10.

With the win, Citrus improves to 11-13 overall and 4-7 in WSC South play. The Owls will close out their 2014-2015 home slate on Saturday when they host LA Valley College at 5:00 PM.