By Jesus Coronel

In a dominating fashion, the Riverside City College women’s basketball team won the first game of the season against Chaffey College 84-53 on Nov. 1.

It is the team’s first game back since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There were a lot of nerves for the first game because they haven’t played in two years because of COVID-19,” head coach Alicia Berber said. 

The nerves didn’t affect the Tigers as they would consistently get points in their possessions, but there were mistakes throughout the game that were apparent.

The Tigers’ defense allowed Chaffey to attempt 25 three-point shots, and although the opposing team only made seven of those shots, their weakness was apparent.

“We gotta get our hands up on defense,” Berber said.

The Tigers also struggled to score points on free throws, going 50% in shooting from the line.

“We can be better,” Berber said. “We need to practice more free throws.”

Freshmen Ayanna Bourgeois and Neveah Manning are happy to return to the court after not being able to play due to the pandemic.

Bourgeois went 8-9 shooting from the field, scoring 16 points with three blocks.

“It feels great to come back,” Bourgeois said. “We’ve been grinding for a long time so it’s great to compete again.”

Manning finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, four of them offensively. 

“It’s really a blessing because COVID-19 happened,” Manning said.