Wolverines Defeat Santa Rosa 84-67 in Big 8 Play

*From an article published in Gold Country Media by Aaron Jackson

The Sierra College women's basketball team is currently ranked third in the state and defeated Santa Rosa Junior College 82-67 on Tuesday. The Wolverines were led by Del Oro High alumna Jenna Duley, who had 29 points and three steals.

"Overall, as a team we were doing really well going through our sets and credit to my teammates for getting the ball to me when I was open," Duley said. "They basically set me up for good, open shots."

Sierra College only had eight players, which meant that multiple starters played at least 30 minutes. Fatigue got to the Wolverines in the second half and the Bear Cubs cut the lead to 62-49 heading into the fourth quarter. They continued to trim the lead and made it a seven-point game with under six minutes remaining.

Christina Oliva, Kiki Griffen and Devon Lewis all hit big shots down the stretch to end scoring runs and put the game out of reach. Oliva finished with 13, Griffen had 12 and Lewis ended up with 18.

"We stuck it out and kept pushing and when I hit the shots in the fourth, I was in the flow," Lewis said. "I know we needed a spark so I just tried to do something for us.

While the Wolverines forced a plethora of turnovers, they also turned the ball over 15 times and allowed 12 offensive rebounds with a majority coming in the second half.

"We just need to not force things," Lewis said. "In the first half, we were getting good looks and had multiple cutters in the paint.

Sierra College is now 16-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big 8 Conference. They faced Folsom Lake College on Wednesday and will play them again at home on Tuesday.

"It just comes down to taking it one game at a time and continuing to stay in shape and get better at our weaknesses," Duley said.