Hornets women’s basketball team extends win streak to 4

As the regular season comes to an end, Fullerton honored their four sophomore players, Tristian Johns, Lyneya Turner, Fia Tailele-Latu and Carissa Gunawan.

The first quarter belonged to the Hornets as they came out of the gate and scored 16 points in the first 6 minutes of the game. Copper Mountain would find themselves down early, fighting to come back.

Sophomore Night — Hornets sophomore players pose with their families and coaches for their last regular season home against Copper Mountain on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Photo credit: Bovie Lavong

The Hornets played no mercy basketball as they continued to dominate the game by making shot after shot and limiting their opponents chance at play.

With the second quarter just underway, Tailele-Latu hit a pull-up jumper, that helped to extend the lead to 26-11 forcing Cooper Mountain to look for help from their bench.

Halfway through the second quarter, Copper Mountain closed the gap to bring the game to 30-19. Just 44 seconds before halftime, Hornets Amber Tabbsam drove down in the paint and hit a pull-up jumper to give the Hornets a 20-point lead 44-24.

Hornets freshman Amber Tabbasam shoots a jump shot against Cooper Mountain. Photo credit: Jim McCormack

The third quarter was the comeback quarter for Copper Mountain as they were able to slow down the Hornets offense by dominating the boards. Momentum switched as Copper Mountain dominated the boards and started to chip away at the lead with their 3-point shooting.

With 3 minutes left in the third, they closed the gap to 5 points, bringing the score to 55-50. Copper Mountain had the Hornets up against the ropes. Their defense was now in control of the game and they just needed a few more stops to stay in this game.

However, that would soon change when Fullerton went on a 13-2 run to end the quarter 68-54. Copper Mountain was back to where they started and trailing with no hopes of slowing down the Hornets offense.

Although both teams went scoreless in the first minute of the fourth, the Hornets would eventually get a jumper to fall in. FC increased their intensity levels and the sophomore’s made sure they did not disappoint in their final game. Six minutes remained in and the Hornets were able to go on yet another run of 8-3.

Up by 20 points and just minutes left to play, FC began to pull away in hopes that they would capture their fourth consecutive victory.

Freshman guard Hannah Jones goes up for a successful layup against Copper Mountain. Photo credit: Jim McCormack

With the clock winding down, FC reached its largest lead of the game at 25 points, which came after Tailele-Latu made a driving lay-up. The Hornets held off their opponents to secure a win of 86-63 over Cooper Mountain.

Although the Hornets will not win Orange Empire Conference, they have solidified their chances at securing a playoff spot. They are currently in fourth place at 9-4 in the OEC.

Hornets Hannah Jones led the team with 18 points and 6 rebounds, while Tristen Johns nabbed 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Moriah Serrano joined in scoring with 14 points, 7 assist and 5 rebounds. Just 2 rebounds shy of a triple-double, Fia Tailel-Latu added 10 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds, while Jaelyn Alderete had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Fullerton (17-0 overall, 9-4 OEC) will end the season on the road against Orange Coast College on Friday, Feb. 22. Game time at 7 pm.