Gauchos pull out big win

The women's basketball team pulled off one of its biggest wins of the season on Friday in beating Riverside City College, 66-62, in the Saddleback Gymnasium. The Gauchos turned up the defense in the fourth quarter to edge the Tigers.

Saddleback started out quick, scoring the first seven points of the game as Laura Tapia was hot from the perimeter.  Tapia finished with eight in the opening quarter as the Gauchos held a 19-11 after 10 minutes.  Joining Tapia was Janae Omusi, who scored seven in the quarter on 3-for-4 shooting.

The Gauchos didn't catch many breaks in the second quarter, picking up a number of fouls as Riverside crept back into the game.  The Gauchos led 32-29 at the intermission, but trailed 12-5 in the foul count.

The fouls continued to add up in the third quarter as Kiazha Ginwright, Kara Ito and Irma Ealy all got into foul trouble.  Riverside used the edge to take the lead 54-50.  Ginwright kept the Gauchos close with seven points in the quarter, but her two personal fouls left her with four heading into the final 10 minutes.

Saddleback then clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter, taking away second chance points and beating the Tigers on the glass.  The Gauchos outrebounded Riverside 9-6 in the quarter while forcing seven turnovers.  After leading 56-52 with 9:46 remaining in the game, Riverside went 6:56 without a point as Saddleback took a 60-56 lead.  Omusi and Tapia again led the charge, scoring 10 straight points.  Omusi scored the first four before Tapia buried back-to-back shots from long range.  Omusi would score eight in the quarter to finish with a team-high 24 while Tapia finished with 19.

Saddleback took a 64-62 lead in the closing minute when Omusi made a lay-in with 46 seconds remaining.  Riverside came down with a chance to tie the game, but an untimely turnover cost them any chance when Ginwright stepped in front of a pass and took it end-to-end for a lay-up with six seconds remaining. 

Saddleback stands at 16-5 overall and 3-0 in Orange Empire Conference play after the win.  The Gauchos are tied atop the OEC standings with Cypress College after the Chargers defeated Irvine Valley on Friday night.  Saddleback will host Cypress on Wednesday in the gymnasium for first place.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM.