The Pierce College women’s basketball team lost in the 1st round of the 2013 CCCAA Womens Basketball Southern California Regional playoffs to the undefeated number one see Mt. San Antonio College 49 – 77 on Saturday March 2.
Mt.SAC’s guard Morgan Mason led all scorers with 22 points, shooting nine for 18 from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds and four steals.
Mason wasn’t the only problem for Pierce, as they were out played in nearly every aspect of the game.
The Brahmas struggled from the very beginning, trailing Mt. SAC 17-38 at half time.
“I think they out hustled us from the start,” said Brooke Castle, sophomore forward for Pierce. “When it came down to it they were just running after every loose ball.”
Mt.SAC went on several scoring runs with little resistance from the Brahmas.
“Basketball is a game of runs, we just had more runs than them and were able to extend our lead,” said Brain Crichlow, Mt.SAC’s head coach. “Pierce is a great team. We were just able to make adjustments.”
Pierce was unfortunately unable to adjust themselves. They were out rebounded 26-50, which lead to Mt. SAC’s 19 second chance points.
“I feel like if we would have ran the plays, not only would it have [given] us a better percentage of a shot but it would of put us in a better position to rebound the ball,” said Castle.
The Brahmas struggled to keep possession of the ball on both offense and defense.
Mt.SAC’s collapsing half court defense kept Pierce on the edge.
“We would look up and they would be there [half court],” said Kameron Jones, Pierce’s starting center. “We knew coming into the game that they were a good defensive team because they haven’t lost any games this season.”
Mt. SAC forced the Brahmas to play outside of their normal game.
Though Pierce’s overall performance was subpar, Jones continued her impressive season by racking up 19 points and 7 rebounds.
“We knew she was an all state player,” said Crichlow. “Kameron was a great player offensively and defensively, she had 6 blocks.”
Jones is one of seven sophomores that could potentially be transferring on to bigger and better things.
“I’m getting a couple of offers and I am trying to figure out what’s the best for me,” said Jones. “I want to go to the WNBA.”
Pierce looks to be in good hands with the freshman guard duo, consisting of Zenith Hernandez and Nichelae Henderson who now have playoff experience for next season.
Ranked number 17 in their conference, Pierce ended their regular season on a 3 game winning streak with a record of 17 – 12.