Philip George, Spring 2009 Assistant Sports Editor
There is an unwritten rule in the sport of basketball that a team that shoots 100 percent from the field generally wins the ballgame, but as demonstrated in the Brahmas 90-64 rout of Victor Valley College in Friday’s opening game of the Pierce Crossover tournament, every rule has its exception.
The Rams shot 22-22 from the field and 18-33 from the free-throw line, but the ability to hold onto the ball was the deciding factor of the contest, Pierce’s defense amassing 20 steals as opposed to Victory Valley’s none. A red flag for Brahma head coach Jim Couch, however, was that only seven of them came in the second half.
“Our defense the second half really fell off,” he said of his team that allowed 40 points in the final half after only allowing 24 in the first. “We’ve got to play better defense than that. Overall, we played about 80 percent of what we’re capable of.”
But even 80 percent proved to be enough for the Brahmas to coast to an easy victory despite not scoring until 2:33 into the game. Sophomore guard Tierra Battle’s first field goal of the game sparked a 15-0 run over the course of the next 3:42, giving the Brahmas a commanding lead that would never be relinquished.
Pierce was led on offense by a quintet of scorers in double figures, two of whom, guards Tessondra Williams and Mikala Pride, are new to the team.
“It felt right tonight,” said Williams, who herself put up 19 points, second on the team to Pride’s 21. “We ran our offense really well.”
In all, 10 different players put points on the board for the Brahmas, some out of necessity after sophomore center Tiara Richardson fouled out within minutes of the beginning of second-half play.
“I thought certain kids stepped up and played a lot of minutes when [Richardson] fouled out,” said Couch after Pierce maintained a balanced offensive attack even in the absence of their star.
Richardson had been running a stellar all-around performance at the time she fouled out, tallying 10 points, six rebounds, two blocks and even a steal before becoming a spectator the rest of the night.
“I just had to keep the intensity up, and I think I had too much intensity because I fouled out of the game,” she said. “It was basically picking up slack for my other teammates, but sometimes is good not to help and to play smart. I just wanted to win.”
The victory improved the Brahmas’ record to 2-1 on the young season as they geared up for West Los Angeles College in the Crossover’s second game 24 hours later.
The game against West L.A. was much harder fought with the Brahmas pulling ahead only three points in overtime to secure the win, 90-87.
Pierce guard Delia Rouse lays up to score against Victor Valley College during the first night of the Pierce College Crossover in the South Gym on Friday. Pierce won against Valley, 90-64, and against West Los Angeles College the next night, 90-87. ()
