Garcia-Nunez Breaks Single-Game Rebounding Record in Owl Victory

Citrus College held off a late surge from Rio Hondo to grab a 56-53 victory and improve to 5-1 on the season. It marks the Owls' best start to the season since the 2012-13 season where Citrus opened the year 6-1.

To put the cherry on top, Giselle Garcia-Nunez set a new program record for most rebounds in a single game with a dominant performance off the glass. She finished with 20 boards, breaking the previous record of 19 set by JaTon Pharham twice, on Dec. 1, 2006, and Jan. 20, 2007. Garcia-Nunez also added 15 points (7-for-14) to grab her fifth double-double of the year. 

Katherine Goostrey also finished with a double-double, scoring 20 points and snatching 11 rebounds.

After finding itself trailing by five early in the second quarter, Citrus turned up the gas and got to work.

Garcia-Nunez banked in a jump shot to spark a 10-0 run for the Owls to shift momentum in Citrus' favor. Felicity Mendoza, Goostrey and Tiffany Hall also got in on the scoring action during the spurt, helping give the Owls a 24-20 lead at halftime.

Both teams had a shaky start to the second half with neither scoring until three minutes into the period. Garcia-Nunez grabbed an offensive rebound and sank a jumper to break the drought, putting the Owls up by two possessions in the process.

The Roadrunners matched the Owls' efforts until back-to-back treys from Goostrey created some distance for Citrus. The Owls ended the third on a 12-0 run to jump out to a 44-28 lead heading into the final quarter.

Rio Hondo made things interesting with a late surge and tried to foul in the final seconds to get a chance at the win. Goostrey knocked down a free throw and Citrus called a timeout with just 11 seconds remaining on the clock. Rio Hondo had two chances from the perimeter, but neither would fall as the Roadrunners settled for a two-pointer to give Citrus the 56-53 victory.

The Owls look to keep rolling as they head to Compton College on Monday for a 5:00 p.m. tip off.