The Riverside City College Women’s basketball team fell short to College of the Canyons 51-46 in Wheelock Gym on Nov. 18. The Tigers battled hard but were unable to overcome some costly mistakes in the latter half of the fourth quarter.

Riverside started the game hot, opening the scoring with a two-point layup from freshman center Salote Patetefa before the Tigers were at the root of back to back fouls, with the Cougars nailing all four of their free throws to put them on top 4-2.

Riverside continued to stay in the fight, never letting the deficit get any more than ten points. Freshman forward Kylah Guillory provided energy in the paint, with efficient scoring, and rebounding to keep the Tigers within consistent striking distance. 

Patetefa and sophomore forward Michelle Soto were also keys to the rebound and the inside score helped Riverside make the most of every possession. 

 Sophomore Guard Brianna Ruelas helped to keep the Tiger offence moving, making smart passes and helping her teammates find shots against a tough Cougar defence. 

Despite the effort from Ruelas, Riverside still continued to find consistent scoring in the second half. The Tigers benefited from a sloppy third quarter from the Cougars where they only scored eight total points. Riverside used this stretch to increase their lead to eight Patetefa and Soto contributed key brackets, helping the Tigers build on their late game momentum.

The Tigers ran their sets well, moving the ball down court to find open targets, but ultimately turnovers and fouls caused the Cougars to break through in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Tigers’ struggled late, unable to score on their possessions, and giving up several baskets to the Cougars. Though Riverside’s defense held insanely strong for a bulk of the game, fouls in the final minutes allowed the Cougars to extend their lead, and secure the 51-46 victory.

“The positive is that everybody’s growing,” head coach Alica Berber said. “I have such a young team, and they are gonna continue to get better, we just gotta get our offence in gear.”

Ruelas added “We held them down on their possessions” She continued, “But we need to do a better job at executing the offence, and knowing what works well for us, and what doesn’t.