Gauchos capture tourney title

The Saddleback women's basketball team won the championship of the San Diego City College Tournament on Sunday with an 84-77 win over the host team.  The Gauchos led for most of the game in improving to 9-3.

Saddleback was the favorites entering the tournament and didn't disappoint, winning three straight in comfortable fashion.  The Gauchos had four players in double-figures on Sunday, led by Kiazha Ginwright.  The freshman from ML King High School in Riverside finished with 27 points before fouling out with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

The dominating inside duo of Janae Omusi and Irma Ealy continued its roll on Sunday, scoring 19 points and 15 points, respectively.  Omusi also had a team-high 12 rebounds in being named the tournament MVP.  Laura Tapia had a second straight game in double figures, scoring 15 points while going 4-for-8 from three-point range.

Most impressive for Saddleback was shooting from the free throw line as Saddleback made 24-of-30 from the charity stripe on Sunday.  The Gauchos were 44-of-58 (76%) from the free throw line over the three-day span after struggling earlier in the season. 

Saddleback jumped out to a 12-5 lead on Sunday and led 16-13 at the end of the quarter on the strength of 10 points by Ginwright.  She also had three rebounds, one block and an assist in the quarter as San Diego City had no answers. 

The Gauchos briefly fell behind at the beginning of the second quarter but then caught fire and increased the lead to 42-30 at the half when Omusi and Tapia heated up.  The two combined for 19 points in the quarter while Landry Armstrong came off the bench to add five points in the quarter.

The third quarter saw more of the same as Ginwright added another 10 points in the quarter, making 6-of-7 from the free throw line while the defense forced five turnovers in the quarter as the lead increased to 65-50.  Saddleback then increased the lead to as much as 24 in the fourth quarter in cruising to the 84-77 win.

Saddleback is now 9-3 on the season and has won five of its past six games.  The Gauchos will play in the Orange Coast Christmas Classic next Monday thru Wednesday.  Saddleback will open the tournament against El Camino College at 1:00 PM next Monday.