Gauchos go wire-to-wire on Lasers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback (20-6, 7-1) | 20 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 61 |
|
Irvine Valley (10-14, 2-6) | 9 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 51 |
The Saddleback women's basketball team took over first place in the Orange Empire Conference with a 61-51 win over Irvine Valley College on Wednesday night in Irvine. The Gauchos never trailed as Saddleback took home the President's Cup for 2017.
Saddleback had an opportunity to overtake Cypress College for first place in conference play with the Chargers sitting idle due to a bye. The Gauchos wasted no time as Janae Omusi buried a three-pointer for a 5-2 lead with 7:54 remaining in the opening quarter and never looked back against the Lasers.
Omusi was coming off a week where she averaged 26 points-per-game and scored 35 in a game against Fullerton. She remained hot on Wednesday night, scoring 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Omusi was 4-for-8 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, also leading the team with eight rebounds. She had 12 points in the opening quarter…all of which came from beyond the arc as Saddleback grabbed a 20-9 lead after the opening quarter.
The second star of the game belonged to Kara Ito, who had one of her biggest games of the season so far. Ito finished with a season-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, dishing out six assists while collecting five rebounds. Ito scored seven points in the second quarter as Saddleback built a 33-17 lead at the half.
With the win, Saddleback basketball completed a clean sweep over inter-district rival Irvine Valley in the President's Cup, as both the women and men went 2-0 for the year. The President's Cup is a friendly competition between the two schools every season, where the winning school gets to keep a trophy.
Wednesday's win also marked the first time since the 2007-08 season that Saddleback has won 20 games as the Gauchos now stand at 20-6 overall and 7-1 in Orange Empire Conference play. The Gauchos enjoy a half-game lead on Cypress in the OEC standings with four games remaining in the regular season. Saddleback has Friday off due to a bye before resuming play at Riverside City College next Wednesday. The Gauchos and Tigers are scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM next Wednesday in Riverside.