Olia Lifts Owls With Buzzer-Beating Shot

It came down to the last second, but Jolleen Olia banked in a buzzer-beating shot to lift No. 24-ranked Citrus College 69-68 over LA Valley College to remain undefeated in Western State Conference action.

The Owls improve to 14-4 on the year and 4-0 in conference, while the Monarchs drop to 8-10 overall, 1-3 in the WSC.

Kristin Morella led three Owls in double figures with 23 points off 9-of-15 shooting, while Olia was just on her tail with 21 points (9-for-21). Sammy Martinez grabbed a double-double with 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 night and snatched up 14 rebounds. She also had three assists and three blocks in the game.

With just under two minutes left to play, Citrus found itself trailing by five points, but the Owls never gave up. Morella and Olia knocked in back-to-back jump shots to put the Owls within one with 44 seconds to go.

Citrus got a big stop on defense and called a timeout with just four seconds remaining. Olia got the inbound pass from Liz Camargo, drove to the right side of the key and lobbed up a shot that bounced off the backboard and rattled in just as the buzzer sounded to give the Owls the victory.

The Owls return home for a big contest Wednesday, hosting the only other undefeated team in the conference: No. 8-ranked Glendale College. The two teams tip off at 7 p.m. in the Owls' Nest with the top spot in the standings on the line.

 

 

 

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