Riverside Explodes in Fourth Quarter, Falls Short in Conference Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (6-8, 0-1) | 16 | 10 | 15 | 29 | 70 |
|
Cypress (8-7, 1-0) | 18 | 19 | 27 | 9 | 73 |
A fourth-quarter effort that outscored the Cypress College Chargers by 20 points made things interesting in the Riverside City College women's basketball Orange Empire Conference (OEC) opener. The Tigers faced a 23-point deficit entering into the final frame and bucketed 29 points, but fell four points shy of a victory with the final score reading 73-70.
For the Tigers case, the story lies in the fourth quarter at the hands of freshman duo Neveah Manning and Neiya Hamilton. Manning, who had at least two points in every quarter, dropped eight points in the final frame which included a 4-for-4 mark from the charity stripe. Hamilton, who had a mere two points entering into the fourth quarter, went 3-for-4 from the floor with a three ball leading to seven points – nine total on the night.
Riverside halted the Charger's scoring with five minutes remaining and did not allow a single bucket. They finished on a 17-0 run and had a chance to tie the game, but turned the ball over on the final possession.
Despite the impressive run, the Chargers never surrendered the lead.
Riverside was haunted by a season-high 31 turnovers and a 20 percent mark from long range. However, they edged out the Chargers from the floor featuring a 43.1 shooting mark and outrebounded them 41-26.
Manning dropped 24 points while doing nearly half of her damage at the free throw line where she went 10-for-11. It is her fifth-consecutive game in double-digits. Freshman forward Maxine Nejera flushed 12 points off the bench and kicked off the near game-winning run in the fourth quarter. She added six rebounds and two steals in the process.
Hamilton finished with nine points, five rebounds and five assists while freshman Mya Clark hauled in 11 boards and dropped six points.
