Owls Stun Renegades for First WSC Win

Citrus College picked up its first conference win in a big way, downing No. 8-ranked Bakersfield College, 62-58.

The Owls improve to 10-9 on the year and 1-4 in the Western State Conference, while the Renegades slip to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the WSC with their first conference loss.

Katherine Goostrey led the Owls with 27 points (10-for-19), her fourth-straight game with 20 or more points. Giselle Garcia-Nunez added 13 points, while Reanne Reola chipped in 11 points. Julie Garcia Man grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Owls opened the game on fire, shooting 58.8-percent from the floor, including 40-percent from distance. It helped Citrus grab a 22-8 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Bakersfield battled back in the second, but still found itself trailing 40-28 at the break.

Momentum started to shift as the Renegades shot 50-percent from the field in the third and managed to chip away at the margin, making it a one-possession game in the final minute of action, 59-56.

The last 60 seconds seemed to go on forever as Bakersfield made two free throws to pull within one, 59-58, with less than 25 seconds to play. Citrus was sent to the line with 7.7 seconds on the clock and missed both, but Garcia Man came up with a big board to keep possession with the Owls.

Bakersfield was forced to foul again as Citrus made it a two-point game with less than seven seconds. The Renegades called a timeout to advance the ball but turned it over on the inbound. Goostrey was sent to the charity stripe where she hit both her shots to secure the 62-58 victory.

Citrus looks to build on the excitement as it turns right around to host Glendale College on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.