Owls Can’t Dig Out of Slow Offense in Loss to AVC

Glendora, CA - The Citrus College Women's Basketball team couldn't dig out of a 14 for 60 shooting performance from the floor and 1 for 11 showing from downtown on Wednesday night when they hosted first place Antelope Valley College. The Owls trailed by just three points late in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get the appropriate response in a 47-38 loss. 

 The Owls fell behind early, missing eight of their first nine attempts from the field as the trailed 8-2 midway through the first. Citrus would get just two, total scores from the floor in that tough first quarter, a layup by sophomore Marisa Brown that made it 2-6 early on and a layup by sophomore Alissa Magana with 1:22 that made it 6-10. Despite the slump the Owls trailed by by just six at the break 6-12. 

Citrus' floor struggles would continue into the second quarter where they were held to just three field goals, but the Owls defense kept them in the game. A jumper by freshman Celeste Fekay in the final minute of the half would help Citrus trail by just five at the break.

In the third, Citrus would push to their largest lead of the game at 12 points with 7:22 left in the frame. The Owls remained relentless though and used a 10-0 spurt to get within two. Brown started the run with a layup, while sophomore Jasmine Meza hit a three to break their drought from beyond the arc. On the Owls next possession Meza would draw a foul from behind the 3-point line and sink all three free-throws to make it 24-28. Freshman Cassandra Martinez would follow that up with a jumper and just like that Citrus trailed 26-28. 

Antelope would get three straight free-throws and hit a huge triple with 24 seconds left in the third quarter. The Owls would make one last push in the fourth quarter, using a 10-3 run book ended by a jumper from freshman Jasmine Williams and a layup by Brown that made it 36-39 with 4:40 to play. That would be the closest Citrus would get though as the Marauders closed the game on an 8-3 run.

In the loss, Citrus was paced by Brown's 15 points and 12 rebounds. Meza added six points, while Martinez handed out a game high four assists.

With the loss, Citrus drops to 6-19 overall and 2-7 in WSC East play. The Owls will close out their 2016-2017 campaign on Saturday when they travel to Barstow College for a 5:00 PM showdown.