Glendora, CA - The teams were tied eleven times and changed leads eleven times in a classic Western State Conference battle, but in the end, College of the Canyons outlasted Citrus, 79-64.
The first half was a dramatic fight that saw three lead changes and six ties as the teams were knotted 31-31 at the intermission. Despite getting two early fouls and playing just nine minutes in the period, Alexis Pope put the bookends on the half for the Lady Owls, scoring the first two points of the game and later getting five points in a 9-0 Citrus run to close out the half.
Neither team emerged by more than a three point lead early on and the teams were tied 19-19 when the Cougars hit a three pointer to start an 11-0 run and they were ahead 28-19 with 4:30 to play. The Owls, however, fought back with a 12-3 run to end the half as Jasmine Redmond put up a jumper with ten seconds remaining to tie the game. Nicole Cunningham led the Owls in the first half, scoring seven points and eight rebounds as she was on her way to a double-double.
The Lady Owls continued what turned into a 13-0 run as they began the second half with two unanswered field goals for a 35-31 lead. The Owls led again by four, 47-43 with 12:45 to play, but the Cougars slowly fought back, taking their final lead with 9:44 to play on a three-pointer from Brittany Benavidez. A 54-51 advantage turned into a six point lead and Canyons was off to the races, winning going away.
Citrus (14-14, 5-4 WSC) was led by Cunningham who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Pope added 17 points and 12 boards, along with four blocked shots and six steals. Redmond scored eight and Simone Funn chipped in eight assists in the losing effort.
Canyons (16-9, 8-0) has at least a two-game lead in the conference with four games to play. They were led by Melissa Tachias, scoring 17 points with nine rebounds. Five players were in double figures for the Cougars, including Leslie Ortiz, who nearly grabbed a triple-double with 12 points, ten rebounds and eight assists. The Canyon bench outscored their Owl counterparts 27-18 in the contest.
Citrus will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to face Glendale.