Bobcats win home opener

The Saddleback women's basketball team won its first home game in 1,391 days with a 61-60 victory over San Bernardino Valley College on Wednesday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats had three players in double-figures.

The last time Saddleback played a women's basketball game at home, gas prices were somewhere around $3.91 a gallon and the athletic programs at the school had a different nickname.  Now the Bobcats, Saddleback opened a new era by stepping on the gas pedal in the defensive end and scoring just enough to record a victory. 

Saddleback's defense was suffocating at times, forcing 34 turnovers and scoring 32 points of their own off the turnovers.  Alex Surrena-Thompson (pictured) led the offensive charge with 19 points while Aleksia Gadea finished with 18 and Moanike'ala Scott had 16.  Gadea was a star on both ends of the court, leading the team in rebounds (9), steals (8) and assists (5).

Saddleback started slowly, missing its first eight shots of the game while falling behind 7-2 on the scoreboard.  The Bobcats finally broke through when Scott made a jumper with 5:16 remaining in the opening quarter to cut the deficit to 7-4. 

San Bernardino Valley built the lead to 13-6 with under three minutes remaining in the first quarter when Saddleback finally got turned things around in the offensive end of the court.  The Bobcats scored seven straight points over the next 2:08 to tie the game, in what would be a back-and-forth game the rest of the way.

Saddleback trailed 54-52 with 4:14 remaining when the defense took over.  The Wolverines missed five straight shots while committing two turnovers over a 3:17 span, allowing Saddleback to grab a 57-54 lead.  The Bobcats iced the game in the final moments when Surrena-Thompson buried two free throws with seven seconds remaining for a four-point advantage.

Saddleback is now 4-3 overall for the 2023-24 campaign following the win.  The Bobcats will play at MiraCosta College on Friday at 6:00 PM.