Glendora, CA (Women’s Basketball) -- There is no greater statistic that tells you how well a team plays together than the assist. It’s simple really, the more assists your team has, the better your team is moving the ball and the better team basketball your squad is playing.
The Lady Owls were the perfect example of that on Wednesday night, as Citrus recorded 23 assists on their 29 field goals made (nearly 10 assists better than their 14.3 apg average), as they glided past LA Valley 68-55.
Citrus would start the game off on fire, as sophomore Jazmine Matthews nailed three straight triples to start the game, helping the Lady Owls to an early 13-7 lead.
Citrus would grow their lead to as large as 8-points, but a Valley run 9-0 run from the 12:23 mark to the 7:19 mark, gave the Monarchs the lead for the first time of the night after a jumper in the paint by Crystal Briones made the score 18-17 in favor of Valley.
Both teams would trade baskets over the final seven minutes, with Valley getting the last word in of the half, as a Juanita Lewis lay-up gave the Monarchs a 27-25 lead going into the half.
In the second half, Citrus broke out the defense and team basketball. The Lady Owls would hold Valley to 32.4% shooting in the second half, and dished out 14 of their 23 assists in the second half alone.
The Lady Owls would take control of the game just a few minutes into the second period, when a fast-break lay-up by Terri Washington kick-started 9 unanswered points by Citrus, that gave them a 38-30 lead after a jumper by Krystyn Jacobs.
Valley would battle back however, crawling to within 2-points of the Citrus lead, after a Lewis jumper made the score 40-42. The Lady Owls quickly answered, this time with a 12-0 run, capped off by a fast-break jumper by Jessica Nieves that gave the Lady Owls a 14-point lead and complete control of the game.
From that point forward, Citrus’ lead never dipped below 8-points as the Lady Owls settled in for a 13 point victory.
In the win, Citrus was led by Matthews’ game high 22 points and 5 assists. Two others Lady Owls would finish with 5 assists, as Nieves poured in 10 points to go along with her 5 dimes, and Washington picked up her second double-double of the season with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.
With the win Citrus improves to 16-7 overall and 2-1 in WSC South Division play. The Lady Owls will hit the road for the first of two back to back road contests, with a trip to Santa Monica College on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
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