Owls Soar Past Warriors

Citrus College exploded offensively in the final quarter to run away with a 62-47 victory over El Camino College.

The Owls improve to 4-1 on the year while the Warriors drop to 2-3.

Giselle Garcia-Nunez led the Owls with her fifth double-double of the year, scoring 24 points (11-for-15) and grabbing 10 rebounds. Katherine Goostrey followed with 19 points and was just two boards shy of a double-double with eight rebounds. Krystle Medrano and Tiffany Hall were solid defensively for the Owls with five and four steals, respectively.

Garcia-Nunez got the ball rolling with the first points of the night off a Goostrey assist. It sparked a 9-0 run for Citrus as it jumped out to almost a double-digit lead before the Warriors could get on the board.

El Camino battled back to tie the game 9-9, but Felicity Mendoza drove to the basket to keep the Owls in front, 11-9, heading into the second quarter.

With a minute remaining before halftime, El Camino took its first lead of the night and walked into the break with a one-point upper hand, 26-25.

The Owls found themselves trailing by four points early in the third, but two free throws from Goostrey and a tip-in from Garcia-Nunez evened things up, 29-29.

Medrano rattled in a jump shot to put Citrus back in front with six minutes left in the third. The Warriors responded to even the score at 33-33, but Medrano rattled in a triple to spark an 8-0 run and give the Owls some separation, 41-33.

Citrus flew away with the game in the fourth, taking a double-digit lead with four minutes left in the game after Medrano sank a perimeter shot from a Hall assist, 52-42.

The Warriors turned up the pressure in the final minute, but back-to-back layups from Garcia-Nunez and two free throws from Goostrey sealed the 62-47 victory for the Owls.

Citrus takes on Rio Hondo on Friday, tipping off at 5:00 p.m. at El Camino College.