SBVC (4-2) participated in their second tournament of the 2015-16 season and got all the way to the finale, falling to the host Santa Ana Dons (7-3), 93-87.
SBVC opened the Bristol Marketplace Classic in the Bill Cook Gymnasium on the campus of Santa Ana College against a tough West Hills-Lemoore Golden Eagles (6-2) squad, which took a 43-35 lead at the half. SBVC would turn their fortunes around in the fourth quarter as they took a lead late and snuck by with a 80-76 victory.
Sophomore forward Sydney Gray (Las Vegas (NV) Centennial) led the starters with a double-double, 22 points on 10 of 19 shooting and 12 boards and sophomore guard Jaysheana Martinez-Williams (San Bernardino Arroyo Valley) also had 22 points, with all of her points arriving by way of the three-point line, going 6 for 11 and the free throw line 4 for 4.
Sophomore guard Ashley Carson (Upland H.S.) added 16 points, going 6 for 8 from the free throw line and leading the team with 8 assists and 7 steals in the win.
On the winner's side of the bracket, SBVC took on a Moorpark Raiders (2-5) team which tied the game at 23-23 just before the half and SBVC spent the rest of the game playing a hard fought second half. SBVC tied the game at 52-52 on a pair of Carson free throws with 14 seconds left to send the game into overtime. In the overtime period, SBVC just out hustled the Raiders, taking the game 62-56 and propelling the team into the title game.
Carson was the leading scorer for SBVC with 16 points on 6 of 19 shooting, going 4 of 6 from the charity stripe and grabbed 7 assists, 7 steals, collected 2 blocks and 9 boards. Gray grabbed her second straight double-double with 15 points on 7 of 16 shooting and 14 boards in the win.
Heading into the Championship Final, SBVC faced a well-rested Santa Ana Dons team which used their deep bench to demolish Santa Barbara City the night before, 97-77. The host Dons took a 51-47 lead into halftime, then started to pull away in the third quarter, taking a 80-63 lead going into the fourth. As expected, SBVC did not back down and went on a 14-2 run to open up the fourth, getting to within 5 points, 82-77 with 5:40 left in the game, but that would be all for SBVC as they could get no closer, falling 93-87.
Carson, an All-Tournament selection, would once again lead the way for SBVC as she scored 26 points on 13 of 17 shooting and collected 7 steals and Gray collected her third straight double-double, with 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 10 boards, along with 4 assists.
Martinez-Williams, also an All-Tournament selection, added 18 points on 4 of 21 shooting, going 2 of 10 from beyond the arc and was perfect from the free throw line, going 4 for 4. Sophomore forward Katrina Anthony (San Bernardino San Gorgonio) contributed 10 points on 3 of 7 shooting, going 4 for 7 from the free throw line in the loss.
Photo by Brittany Campbell.
Information, Photos & Story provided by SBVC Sports Information.