Rams Use Fourth Quarter Comeback to Advance to Third Round of Regionals
By Daniel Murphy
City College women’s basketball advanced to the third round of the Northern California regional playoffs with a thrilling 51-49 fourth quarter comeback win over the tenth seeded Lassen Community College Cougars on Friday, Feb. 28.
The Rams continued their winning momentum after closing the regular season with four straight victories. After a tightly played first half, they found themselves down 20-23. The Cougars came out of the break guns blazing and caught the Rams on their heels defensively in the third quarter. The Rams entered the fourth quarter down 6.
After the deflating third quarter, the Rams opened the final frame with a 13-1 run through the first five minutes, and never looked back. A missed desperation half-court heave by the Cougars at the final buzzer sealed the Ram’s 51-49 playoff victory.
Rams guard Jayden Benitez, led the comeback effort, running a fastbreak early in the fourth quarter and hitting a crucial three-pointer down the stretch. Benitez was the top scorer, leading the Rams with 15 points and shooting 6-13 from the field.
Coming off the bench, Becca Tasi had a huge night, coming down with 14 of the Rams 31 total rebounds and scoring 10 points to push her team to victory. Forward Vivian Woo continued her season of impressive three-point shooting, scoring all nine of her points from deep against the Cougars.
Head Coach Derek Lau said his team went into the fourth quarter, “playing a lot more aggressively and with more intensity overall.”
“Our defense has stayed the same all year— our goal was to keep them under fifty and we did.” Lau said, confident in his team’s defensive performance.
The next game will be on Saturday, March 7, away against the Diablo Valley College Vikings for the third round of the Northern California regional playoffs.