Gauchos cruise past Spartans into semifinals

The Saddleback women's basketball team opened the San Diego City College Tournament with an 81-49 win over MiraCosta College on Friday in San Diego.  The Gauchos had four starts in double-figures in advancing to the semifinals.

Laura Tapia opened the scoring for Saddleback with a layup and three-pointer as the Gauchos took the lead at 5-4 with 7:54 remaining in the opening quarter.  They never relinquished the lead the rest of the way in improving to 7-3 on the season. 

MiraCosta had no answer for the offensive firepower that Saddleback threw at them on Friday.  The Gauchos had four of five starters score in double figures, led by Irma Ealy.  The sophomore from nearby Helix High School in San Diego finished with a game-high 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting, scoring in double-figures in both the second and third quarters.

Ealy was joined in double figures by Janae Omusi (19), Tapia (15) and Kiazha Ginwright (10) as Saddleback's starters outscored MiraCosta's starters 76-43.  The Gauchos shot 46.6% from the field, dishing out 26 assists while forcing 26 turnovers on defense.

Saddleback led 40-25 at the half and made a run to start the third quarter.  The Gauchos scored the first nine points of the quarter to put the game out of reach.  MiraCosta's Teya Searles did her best to keep the Spartans in the game, scoring 19 points in a losing effort. 

Saddleback will play Santa Barbara in the semifinls after the Vaqueros defeated Imperial Valley on Friday, 70-43.  Tip time on Saturday is scheduled for 2:00 PM.