Gauchos dominate season opener

The Saddleback women's basketball team got off to a quick start on Friday, beating College of the Canyons 88-43 at the Mt. San Antonio College Tip-Off Tournament.  Irma Ealy led a balanced attack.

Saddleback was eager to take the court and wipe away a 10-20 season from a year ago.  The Gauchos took a big, giant step, blasting a program that finished 23-6 last season.

Saddleback flew out of the gate, scoring 25 points in the opening quarter for a 12-point lead.  Janae Omusi was red hot, scoring eight points in the opening quarter and making 2-of-4 from three-point range.  Saddleback extended the lead to 43-21 at the half, outrebounding the Cougars 10-4 in the second quarter alone.

Ealy took over the game in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her game-high 20 points.  Ealy was 5-for-5 from the field as Canyons had no answer inside for the 6-footer.  Ealy would finish 10-of-13 from the field on the night as the Gauchos shot 44% from the field.  Saddleback made 11-of-33 from three-point range after shooting just 21% from beyond the arc during the 2015-16 campaign. 

Saddleback will now face perennial power Mt. San Antonio in the winner's bracket on Saturday at 7:00 PM.  Mt. SAC was an 86-28 winner over College of the Desert.