The women’s basketball team has had its ups and downs just like any team in the sports world, and is managing to keep an impressive record, despite falling short against UC San Diego on Jan. 16 and Cal State San Marcos on Jan. 18.
Although the Broncos took tough losses, their efforts and drive are key to their winning ways. Their overall record is 11-7 and their record against teams in their conference is 7-5.
The Broncos were on a five-game winning streak heading into the game against UC San Diego. The Broncos played as a unit and had four players scoring in double figures, with senior guard Lauryn Catching being one of the players with 14 points. Her points came mostly from being aggressive and knocking down her free throws as she shot 8-10 from the line.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, the Tritons got their revenge with a final score of 68-82.
Catching was also very efficient against San Marcos. She led the team in scoring with 15 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the field, hitting one from behind the 3-point line and two of two free throws all within 28 minutes. The Broncos cut the lead down, but the Cougars closed the game out with a final score of 63-79.
“We struggled with communicating and rotating on defense,” Catching said. “We just have to be more locked in and be more adaptable to what teams come at us with, especially in the second half of the season.”
The Broncos faced UC San Diego for the first time of the season over winter break, which was arguably the toughest game of the season in terms of fighting for a win against a No. 22 ranked team in the California Collegiate Athletic Association while ending a three-game cold streak.
The previous Bronco versus Tritons match on Dec. 22 went into an overtime thriller as the Broncos were down 54-49 with one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Mylah Andrada, who returned from a nearly half-season-long injury, made a clutch 3-pointer to put the Broncos within two points.
As UC San Diego tried to run the clock out, senior point guard Jackie Ricketson came up with a steal and ran the floor to get a layup plus a foul that tied the game. Ricketson missed the free throw, but sent the game into overtime. The Broncos played great defense and made great plays on offense to close the game out with a final score of 69-61. The Broncos have worked hard and are now 2-4 against ranked teams.
Ricketson gives a lot of credit to her team for stepping up and getting the win. She feels that each teammate is doing her part and scoring when the team needs it.
“Mylah hit me some huge threes against San Diego and that was super exciting to see her come back better than before,” Ricketson said. “Obviously we can’t do it on our own, so when everyone does their part it makes a huge difference in our game.”
Head Coach Danelle Bishop knows her team is full of winners and will try its best every game to get a win. She feels that she and the assistant coaches can help lead them to be successful, but the credit truly goes to the girls, as they are the ones to be consistent and play great basketball.
“This group, really, they want to be successful. They’re used to being successful,” Bishop said. “I think that’s an advantage for us, we have winners on our team and they want to win. I think they’re going to continue to work hard … and just grind it out.”
The Broncos will take on Cal State San Bernardino for the second time this season at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 on the road. The Broncos took a stomping 82-57 victory in their last meeting with the Coyotes and are looking to get back to winning.
