Cats hold off Dons for third straight win

The Saddleback women's basketball team won its third straight game with a 60-55 victory at Santa Ana College on Tuesday in Santa Ana.  Alex Surrena-Thompson led the charge.

Saddleback now has its longest winning streak of the season after winning a third straight game on Tuesday.  The Bobcats jumped out to a 12-point lead in the opening quarter when Surrena-Thompson nailed a jumper for a 15-3 lead with a minute remaining in the opening frame.  It was her only two points of the quarter, but would get her on track for the rest of the game.

Surrena-Thompson would finish with 17 points on the night, making 8-of-19 shots from the field while collecting 11 rebounds.  She scored eight points in the second quarter while Santa Ana was making a comeback. 

Santa Ana rallied and took a lead in the third quarter when Selena Hernandez made a three-pointer to put the Dons ahead for the first time at 34-33 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.  The game would remain close for the next eight minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points until under 7.5 minutes remaining in the game. 

Saddleback then made a late push as Moanike'ala Scott made a three-pointer with 6:56 remaining to give the Bobcats a 51-43 advantage.  Two possessions later Saddleback pushed the lead to double-digits when Aleksia Gadea made a layup for a 53-43 lead with under six minutes remaining.  Surrena-Thompson then put the game away with a jumper at the 4:23 mark as the lead swelled to 12.

Saddleback is now 9-16 overall and 2-9 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats have three games remaining on the schedule, starting with a home date against Fullerton College on Thursday.  The Bobcats and Hornets are set to tip off at 7:00 PM inside the gymnasium.