Historic season comes to an end

The Saddleback women's basketball team lost to Mt. San Antonio College, 67-51, on Saturday night in Walnut, California.  The Bobcats went ice cold from the outside in falling in the regional finals.

Saddleback had its best season in a couple of decades.  The Bobcats made it to the regional finals for the first time in 23 years and won two playoff games for the first time since 1996.  Unfortunately, it all ended on Saturday night against the top-ranked team in the region.

Saddleback came out ice cold from beyond the arc and fell behind 18-4 after the opening quarter.  The Bobcats were 0-for-6 from long range and Mt. San Antonio took advantage.  The Mounties outrebounded the Bobcats 14-7 in the quarter while getting the ball inside to Taliyah McFerson, who scored seven points with three rebounds in the quarter.

Saddleback played the Mounties even in the second quarter.  The Bobcats were still ice cold from the outside (1-for-7) but managed to control the boards (10-4) in keeping within an arm's length of the Mounties.

Saddleback opened the second half with intensity and narrowed the deficit to 12 after Kassidy Beach hit a jumper to get within 37-25 with 8:06 remaining in the quarter.  Unfortunately, that was as close as the Bobcats would get until late in the quarter when Makayla Rutledge nailed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 49-37.   The shot from Rutledge ended a 1-for-17 start from beyond the arc for the Bobcats and gave them a glimmer of hope heading to the fourth quarter. 

Saddleback never got any closer in the fourth quarter as Mt. San Antonio started to get to the free throw line.  The Mounties shot 14 free throws in the final quarter as Saddleback was left trying to foul in an attempt to lengthen the game.  Saddleback cut the deficit back to 12 with 7:13 left on the clock when Beach made another jumper.  The lead waffled between 15 and 18 the rest of the way as the clock expired on the season.

Saddleback finished with three players in double-figures for the game.  Kalynne Mendez led the team with 13 points while Beach and Rutledge finished with 12 points apiece.  The Bobcats, unfortunately, finished 3-for-21 from three-point range as a team.

Saddleback finishes the season 22-9 overall. 

GAME NOTES: It was the first time the program had won 22 games since the 2007-08 season when they won 24.  Saddleback won two playoff games for the first since 1996.  The Bobcats made it to the regional finals for the first time in 23 years.