Gauchos blast Panthers for spot in finals

The Saddleback women's basketball team led for the final 39+ minutes in beating Chaffey College, 72-55, in the semifinals of the Panther Pride Tournament.  The Gauchos will face Mt. San Jacinto in the finals on Sunday.

Kiazha Ginwright opened the scoring for the Gauchos by burying a three-pointer on the second possession of the game for a 3-2 lead.  It was a lead Saddleback would never relinquish as they streaked past the home team and into the finals.  Ginwright would finish with a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds as the Gauchos bounced back from a cold-shooting night in the quarterfinals to light up the Panthers. 

Saddleback led 21-14 after one quarter and 35-20 at the half as Chaffey had no answers.  The Gauchos would increase the lead to as much as 18 in the fourth quarter after Janae Omusi made a layup for a 55-37 lead.  Omusi finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in a game where the Gauchos defense forced 22 turnovers.  Another big contributor was Irma Ealy, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Saddleback remained hot from the free throw line for a second straight game.  In what was an Achilles Heel for the first part of the season, the Gauchos made 9-of-11 on Saturday and are now 28-for-34 in the tournament from the charity stripe.

Saddleback will face Mt. San Jacinto (8-0) in the finals on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 PM.  The Eagles were ranked No. 2 in the south to start the season and currently have the No. 8 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in the southern half of the state.