The Cabrillo College women’s basketball team halted its two-game skid Wednesday defeating the Reedley College Tiger 67-53 in the Adobe Palace.
Both teams entered the game ranked in the Top 15 in the Dec. 3 California Community Colleges Women’s Basketball Coaches Association North Poll, with Cabrillo (4-2) being ranked 12th and Reedley (5-6) tied with American River College for 14th.
After establishing a commanding 17-point lead going into the half, the Seahawks struggled to keep up with a resilient Tigers team that outscored them two-to-one in the third quarter.
Reedley held a tenuous three-point advantage heading into the final quarter, but mental mistakes and foul trouble ultimately undermined any hope of an upset. Cabrillo players made the most of their visits to the foul line making 75 percent of their free throws for nine points in the final stanza.
Cabrillo head coach John Wilson thought his team struggled with consistency in large part due to scheduling, namely the infrequency of games during the early part of the season.
“It’s hard to get in a rhythm as a team when you’re playing one game a week,” Wilson said, “but we have tried to pile up our games towards conference play.”
Heleyna Hill, a sophomore guard, dropped a game-high 21 points to go with six assists, three rebounds and two steals to lead her squad to victory. She shot a clutch 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, and her ability to draw fouls in the fourth quarter facilitated the triumph.
Center Maddy Miller, a sophomore who played at Santa Cruz High, contributed across the stat sheet coming away with 12 rebounds, scoring six points, blocking five shots, dishing out four assists and snatching two steals.
Victoria Johnson, a freshman guard who played for San Lorenzo Valley High last year, pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and logged seven points and one assist.
Freshman guard Michaela Thornton led Cabrillo’s bench players in scoring with nine points, eight rebounds, one assist and one block.
The Seahawks travel south to play in the Monterey Peninsula College Tournament on Dec. 13.
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MEN’S BASKETBALL
Cabrillo sweeps – Cabrillo took advantage of the comfy confines of the Adobe Palace, sweeping the 15th annual Cabrillo College Classic in Aptos. The Seahawks edged Cuesta College, 60-53, on Dec. 1, and beat Butte College, 67-49, on Dec. 2.
Interim head coach James Page kept his home unbeaten streak alive despite his team only outscoring its opponents by two points combined in the second half of both games.
As the rotations begin to take shape and players settle into their roles, the court seems to expand giving the Seahawks (6-3) more room to run their offense. Sophomores that invested last season in developing chemistry on the scout team are starting to see returns on the court as evidenced by the 38 total assists compiled by the Seahawks over the weekend.
“Definitely feels good to be trending in the right direction,” Page said following the final horn of the tournament.
The Seahawks will travel to Stockton on Dec. 14 to compete in the San Joaquin Delta Tournament. They open up against Reedley College in the first round. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Sophomore center Avery Edwards registered his first double double of the season against Cuesta College (6-3) with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Guards Trey Whitley, a sophomore from Santa Cruz, and Dymond Hands, a freshman from Texas, distributed the ball for five assists a piece. Whitley also led all players in points (18) and steals (3)
Butte’s (4-6) dynamic scoring combo guard Noah Zoppi dropped a game-high 24 points, but second chance buckets provided the wind beneath the Seahawks wings they needed in victory.
Cabrillo dominated the boards pulling down 39 rebounds to Butte’s 26, which allowed the Seahawks to make up for shooting a paltry 24 percent from beyond the arc.
Seahawk’s sixth man Lenorris Mincey hauled in six offensive boards and eight in total, which he was able to convert into three assists and six points.
