Women’s Basketball: Owls Fall in WSC South Opener

Glendora, CA - The Citrus College Women's Basketball team kicked off their 2020 Western State Conference South Division schedule on Wednesday evening when they hosted Los Angeles Valley College. The Owls put up strong opening and closing quarters, but couldn't keep pace in the middle, falling 35-81.

Sophomore Jailene Rosas scored the games opening bucket, giving Citrus their only lead of the night early on. Valley would answer with an 8-0 run, but a jumper by freshman Julie Garcia Man broke it up and kept it respectable early on. The Monarchs would extend their biggest lead of the first frame to 11 points with just over a minute to go, but a pair of free-throws by sophomore Malia (Rocha) Ili kept it closer at 19-10 at the break. 

In the second quarter, LA Valley opened the game up taking a 25-point advantage into the break. They further distanced themselves in the third, while the Owls did their best to keep up in the fourth but were ultimately in too deep.

In the loss, Citrus was paced by Rocha's team high 15 points. Rocha also handed out a team best four assists. Garcia Man was the only other Owl in double figures with 10 points, and coming up just short of her second career double-double with a team high nine rebounds. 

With the loss, Citrus drops to 3-12 overall and 0-1 in WSC South play. The Owls will hit the road this weekend as they travel to Bakersfield College (6-9, 0-1) for a 3:00 PM tip.