Southwestern Guard Shanesha Clayton splits defenders and drives to the rim against the Saddleback College Gauchos.
A proverbial catfight occurred in the Southwestern College gym when the Lady Jaguars basketball team took on the Taft College Cougars. Taft’s size and strength on the post was too much for the Lady Jags who lost, 68-61.
SWC (4-5) leapt to a quick 6-0 run to start the first half before Taft answered back to take the lead, 8-6. In the closing minutes of the half freshman guard Alexis Harris sank back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the Jags within two, 24-22.
Sophomore Kayla Payne brought the first half to a close with a drive to the paint that tied the score at 26.
Taft (5-6) wore down SWC during the second half behind 6-foot post-player Crystal Faletoi, who received pass after pass for easy turnaround bank shots. SWC sophomore guard Chloe Cook valiantly drained four bombs from behind the arc, giving her 16 points on the day, but Taft prevailed, 68-61.
Cook said she was disappointed with the outcome of the game.
“We’re a team that’s just slow in the start and we need to pick up earlier,” she said. “We show a lot of effort and we definitely care, we just did not start like we needed. We should have come out of this game with a win.”
Cook said she needed to keep her focus.
“I love basketball and I wanted to be in as much as I could,” she said. “We just had an off day today. I just need to push myself harder to get the win.”
The Lady Jags sit in second place behind Palomar College in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.
SWC hit the road to faceoff against Los Angeles Trade Technical College (0-3). Try as they might, the Beavers just couldn’t dam up the Lady Jag’s flow. SWC capitalized on opportunities and came away with a 53-39 win.
Coming out in the first half with a strong defensive front, the Lady Jags’ swarmed L.A. Trade Tech players, intercepting passes, driving the other way and finishing plays for points. SWC’s shooting was slow to get moving, but once the Lady Jag’s found their rhythm nothing could stop them.
Sophomore forward/guard Carla Flores sank 7 of 11 from the floor for a season high 14 points. Payne scored 10 and freshman guard Cardedra Evans scored nine. As good as the Lady Jags were in the first half, the scoreboard margin was just, 23-21.
In the second half, the Jags took a page out the reptile playbook. They made like boas and slowly constricted the Beavers, choking off momentum. SWC put on a defensive show, combining for 17 steals and 37 rebounds. The Lady Jags only allowed LATTC 18 points in the second half to skin the Beavers, 53-39.
Lady Jaguars strapped on their spurs for a home game against Saddleback College (3-4). The Gauchos showed SWC it wasn’t their first rodeo and rode off with a 71-67 victory.
SWC started strong, going bucket-for-bucket with Gaucho starters. Midway through the first half, Saddleback began taking control. The Jags were getting beat to the basket and were struggling to come up with rebounds on both sides of the court.
Guard Shanesha Clayton said the Lady Jags needed to get their offense moving sooner.
“We started lackadaisical,” she said. “We need to start off stronger in the beginning of the game.”
SWC’s passing was errant and they looked as though they were lacking a general offensive strategy. When the Lady Jags did get an opportunity to put up shots, they would not fall. Free throws were the biggest hindrance. Of 28 trips to the charity stripe, they sank a dismal 10.
“I think if we just make our free throws that’s it, we got it,” said Flores. “We need to tighten up and make it look better.”
At the half the Lady Jags headed to the locker room down, 38-28.
Their second half began with newfound focus. SWC chipped Saddleback’s lead to six points. Harris and forward Chelsea Ball rained down 3-pointers, sinking four and three, respectively.
Their impressive effort was futile, as Saddleback edged out the Lady Jags, 71-67.
Head coach Darnell Cherry said he was not thrilled with his team’s performance.
“We gave ourselves an opportunity to come back at the end and win it in overtime, but we just didn’t get it done,” he said. “We can’t give a team a lead at the beginning and expect to fight our way back. We didn’t play well for the first 30 minutes of the game. We played really well the last 10 minutes of the game. But it’s a 40-minute game. I think we need to start strong and finish.”
The Lady Jaguars will take the next week to prepare for the Coast Christmas Classic tournament at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.