Philip George, Spring 2009 Assistant Sports Editor
The Pierce College women’s basketball team emerged champions of the sixth annual Brahma Thanksgiving Shoot-Out this past weekend in the Pierce gymnasium. Pierce had reached the tournament’s final game in each of the past three seasons, but had never won it all. Action began Friday night, and saw a thriller of an opening game as Los Angeles Valley College downed Oxnard College 65-63 on a buzzer beater by Liseth Orrego. In game two, Citrus College jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they defeated East Los Angeles College 76-41. Despite a late surge by Cuyamaca College in the tournament’s third game, they were unable to catch Los Angeles Community College as they went on to win 64-60. Forward Emmilee Ringleberg led the way with 21 points for the Brahmas who scored early and often en route to a 99-36 victory over Mission College in their first round game Friday night. At no point in the game did Pierce trail, as they put up the game’s first seven points and did not allow a score until six minutes into the first half. “We played well today,” said assistant coach Ralph Wesson, “We did a lot of good things.” In Saturday’s semifinal round, a traveling call with 20.9 seconds to go negated a game-tying basket for Valley, who fell to Citrus 57-55 on Jazmine Matthews’ game winning jumper. Pierce managed to strike first in their semifinal game against LACC, but foul trouble and poor defense put them in a hole, trailing at the half 39-22. However, guard Bridget Jenkins made it clear that the Brahmas would not go quietly. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to pull it out,” said Jenkins, “Get my word on that one. We’re going to have to play as a team, play together, play smart, and just pull it out in the end.” Pierce stormed back in the second half, the offense igniting a 23-5 run to put Pierce on top. Guard Tierra Battle capped off the scoring with a three pointer that proved to be the game winner as the Brahmas won 60-56 to claim a spot in the finals. “I didn’t think we were going to lose,” said Battle, “We got more hustle than them. More heart than them.” Head coach Jim Couch was thrilled to move on to the final round, but was less than impressed with the team’s first half performance. “Last night we came to play,” said Couch, “We didn’t come to play today. We needed that game to keep our egos in check.” Pierce arrived at the gymnasium Sunday with the Citrus Owls, who defeated the the Brahmas in the 2005 tournament finals, their final hurdle. Defense dominated the first half of play, with center Tiara Richardson leading the way. At the half, it was anybody’s game as Pierce led Citrus 28-25 and was 20 minutes away from the championship. “I’m pretty nervous,” said Richardson, “But we’re coming out 0-0. We’re going to have to start over brand new. We’ll bring it home.” Jenkins and Ringleberg took over in the second half, finishing the game with a combined 49 points, helping Pierce capture the championship 75-61. “I think this is the first of many,” proclaimed tournament MVP Bridget Jenkins. “Hey, what can I say? We’re going to Disneyland! It feels great!” added Couch.