Merced women rally to beat Siskiyous in round 1

BY DAVID WITTE, dwitte@losbanosenterprise.com

The Merced College women's basketball team used a few clutch moments to slip past ninth-seeded College of the Siskiyous 56-52 in the first round of the CCCAA playoffs on Friday.

With the No. 8 Blue Devils and the Eagles tied 52-52 and time winding down toward a minute left in the contest, Merced guard Trinity Washington was putting play in motion when Siskiyous' Jamika Davis slapped the ball away from her. Washington got to the loose ball first, spun inside another player, and lofted a jump shot while still airborne to put Merced on top for good.

"I was getting ready to pass it, because we were running a certain play, but she wasn't looking so I tried to snatch it back at the last minute, she hit it, so I had no option, I just spun and shot," Washington said. "(The spin) is my favorite move – because I'm fast, and obviously nobody can stop it."

Washington's teammate Nitoyra Bone stopped the bleeding two minutes earlier, lofting a three-pointer to turn a seven-point Siskiyous lead to a four-point one.

"I think being in the games with Fresno City the four times we played them, I just think we're used to handling games and pressure-type situations like that," Merced coach Allen Huddleston said. "Nitoyra's been in the gym all week shooting threes, and Trinity loves the spin move, so it's something she's been comfortable with. Big shots, but it takes a great player to knock them down at the end of the game."

Merced (21-9) led most of the first half, with Brenai Walker draining four 3-pointers on her way to 14 first-half points. She went scoreless in the second half, though, after Siskiyous (23-4) switched to man coverage against her. Washington scored all of her 11 points in the second half. Meanwhile, Siskiyous' 5-foot-2 point guard Tabatha Anderson went to work after the break, draining a trio of her own 3-pointers.

Meanwhile, Casie Johnson did her damage in the post for the Eagles, racking up 23 points and 23 rebounds.

"(She) was all-state for us and led the state in field-goal percentage and everything else," Siskiyous coach Tom Powers said. "She had a great game. She hasn't really played in three weeks because of shin splints, so tonight was kind of her first game back."

Huddleston said it was almost pointless to gameplan against Anderson and Johnson.

"I know they play (Johnson) in the post, but she's a guard," he said. "She is so quick off the dribble, and 11? You talk about dynamite comes in small packages – boy. They are tough. We knew those two would get their points, we just had to make sure the rest of them didn't hurt us."

Anderson fouled out at 1:39, not long before Washington gave Merced the lead.

Merced's Sonji Green spent most of the night battling Johnson under the basket, and came away with 13 boards of her own to go with nine points.