The Fullerton College women’s basketball team overcame a ten-point deficit to beat Rio Hondo, 51-44, last Tuesday, at home.
Former basketball players of Fullerton College were honored before the game, as each of them lined up at center court, and were introduced by the former head coach of the women’s basketball team, Debi Woelke. Some of the former athletes in attendance were reunited with old teammates, and some were the only athlete representing the years they played.
Also honored at the game was Colleen Riley, a former athlete and coach of Fullerton College, who passed away in 2011 after battling cancer. Both players and fans in attendance showed their respect for the former Hornet coach, who the South Gym’s court was named after.
Coming into the game, the Lady Hornets had been struggling, opening the season with a record of 1-4. They were looking to get some confidence heading into the Chaffey tournament this week.
The Lady Hornets struggled offensively early in the game, as Rio Hondo captured a lead and held it for the rest of the first half.
“We just tried to win the game in the first half instead of just settling in, playing good defense and executing our offensive plan,” said Marcia Foster, head coach for the Lady Hornets.
Although the Lady Hornets were struggling to put the ball in the basket, so were the Roadrunners. They only had a six-point advantage midway through the first half, 13-7. They extended their lead to as many as 10 points by dominating the inside game. Fullerton did not have an answer for forward Bianca Garcia of Rio Hondo who scored 10 first-half points in the paint.
“We came out focused and ran, which is what we wanted to do,” said assistant coach Edgar Madinilla of the Lady Roadrunners.
The Lady Hornets went on a 7-0 run in less than a minute, and suddenly it was a whole new ball game. With some key defensive stops by Jazmine Shipp coming off the bench, and tough rebounding by forward Kelli Calton, the Lady Hornets cut the lead down to a 25-23 deficit at halftime.
The second half picked up right where the first half ended. Fullerton was in a full-court press, and immediately took the lead to start the half after Scott swished a three pointer. The Lady Hornets never lost the lead, even extending it to 37-28 with 15 minutes left to play.
“It was just a matter of us getting some stops. Our defense got our offense going,” said Foster.
Scott was dominant on the offensive end down the stretch, and the team as a whole shot well at the free-throw line.
She finished the game leading all scorers with 20 points, 5 assists. Calton added 9 points, 9 rebounds. Garcia of the Roadrunners ended with 14 points and 19 rebounds.
The Lady Hornets’ next challenge will be against Chaffey College on Friday at 7pm, in the first round of the Chaffey tournament.