Women’s basketball rallies against Saints in opener
By Taylor Clayton
The Guardsman
Rams 73, Mission 61
City College overcame first game jitters and started their season on a high note.
The Rams defeated Mission College 73-61 at the Wellness Center on Nov. 7 after falling behind in the first half.
“We got a win. There’s a lot of things I think we need to work on but I still feel very optimistic about this team,” Head Coach Jamie Hayes said.
The Rams started the game strong with last season’s leading scorer, sophomore Janis Peterson, scoring eight of the first 10 points helping her team to an early 17-6 lead. After Mission took a timeout, momentum shifted when the Saints jumped on City College with a 13-0 run.
“We had a hard time defending some of their players in the first half. I told them we need to pick it up on defense,” Hayes said . “We always talk about how important possessions are and that’s something we talked about focusing on in the second half.”
The Rams started the second half with a tough defense and took an early 3-point lead. After freshmen forward Rachelle Smith scored putting City College up six points, sophomore Stephanie Lu was able to steal the ball and take it in for a lay-up for her only two points of the game, giving the Rams a 55-47 lead.
In her first game as a Ram, Smith scored 17 points and 10 rebounds.
City College’s spark in the second half came from the bench with sophomore Chlarra Duncan-Perry. Able to control the paint, and putting herself in great position in the post for some easy points, the forward led her team in rebounds including 10 on the offensive end.
“I felt the quickness in my feet helped me get to the spots I needed to get to,” Duncan- Perry said. “Last year I was more of just a big body, this year I want to have more of a presence and use my body more. The weight room and being on the track helps a lot because I’m doing more then I did last year.”
Her coach also saw the improvement.
“Rebounding was huge in the second half,” said Hayes. “In order to outscore an opponent you need the ball and I thought those extra possessions made the difference for us.”
Duncan-Perry finished the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds to keep her team on top until the end.
The Rams next game is at the Sierra Tournament beginning Nov. 18 in Rocklin, Calif. Then they come home to face De Anza College at the Wellness Center on Nov. 23. Tip off will be at 5 p.m. against the Dons.