Cats rally past Dons for 20th win

The Saddleback women's basketball team overcame an early deficit in defeating Santa Ana College, 74-65, on Tuesday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats remain in first place in the Orange Empire Conference with two games remaining.

Saddleback has huge games remaining against Cypress College and Orange Coast College, but first had to deal with a Santa Ana team that was 12-4 during the preconference schedule and had recently beaten two-time defending state champion Orange Coast College six days earlier.  The Bobcats came in ranked No. 12 in the latest California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCWBCA) Rankings while Santa Ana was No. 25. 

Saddleback ran into a buzzsaw to start, as Santa Ana was red hot from the outset.  The Dons shot 67% from the field in the opening quarter in taking a 25-16 lead through the first 10 minutes.

Things evened out in the second quarter as Santa Ana went cold from the field in the final four minutes.  The Bobcats were down 30-18 when they finally made a run.  The defense held the Dons scoreless over the final 4:01 of the half while whittling the lead down to four (30-26). 

Saddleback had a different approach in the second half.  The Bobcats did everything they could to get to the free throw line and made the best of their chances.  Saddleback was sizzling hot from the charity stripe, making 24-of-26 shots (92.3%) over the final 20 minutes. 

Saddleback finally got back to even when Nina Saiki made a three-pointer with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game at 33-33.  The Bobcats then took their first lead of the game at 38-37 after Saiki made a pair of free throws.  Mariana Mina then joined the party by hitting a shot from the outside as Saddleback took a 42-37 lead with 3:31 remaining in the quarter.  Santa Ana would eventually make another run and head to the fourth quarter with a 48-46 advantage.

The game was tight throughout the fourth quarter as Kassidy Beach picked up a fourth foul and had to go to the bench.  Kalena Akinaka picked up the slack by providing a boost off the bench. Akinaka made four straight free throws while becoming a defensive force inside.  She would finish the game with three blocked shots and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of work. 

Saddleback led by one point midway through the fourth quarter when they went on a run to put the game on ice.  Mina's three-pointer with 2:52 remaining extended the Saddleback lead to nine points (62-53), which seemed to be the backbreaker.  Santa Ana would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Saiki equaled her biggest game of the season, scoring 25 points.  She was 15-of-16 from the free throw line to bring her season average up to 76.5%.  Two others finished in double-digits as Mina had 16 points and Kalynne Mendez added 14 points.

Saddleback's 30-of-35 performance at the free throw line shattered a program record of 25 made free throws on two occasions (LA Valley '95, Santa Ana '03).  After a dismal start the season, the Bobcats are now shooting 67.4% from the charity stripe for the season and 74.8% in conference play. 

Saddleback is now 20-6 overall and 8-2 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play following the win.   The Bobcats have a half game lead in the OEC with two games remaining. 

Saddleback will play at Cypress College on Thursday night at 7:00 PM.  The Bobcats defeated Cypress 71-68 in overtime on January 21.

NOTES:  It is the first time Saddleback has won 20 games in a season since 2016-17 when it finished 21-10 in making it to the second round of the regional tournament.  It is the 12^th time in program history to win 20 games in a season.