WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: HORNETS NEARLY UPSET THE GAUCHOS

The Lady Hornets hosted #7 Saddleback College on Wednesday night and nearly upset the Gauchos before falling 75-73 in overtime.

The loss now gives FC an Orange Empire Conference record of 1-5 and an overall record of 9-13. The Saddleback win keeps them undefeated in the OEC at 6-0 and gives them an overall record of 19-5.

Fullerton started off the game playing with fire in their eyes and lighting in their feet. With the score tied at 10 a piece, with 1:19 left in the first quarter, FC took the lead on jumpers by Tianna Buford and Juanita Nolosco.

At the start of the second quarter, the Hornets had a 14-10 lead. Buford added two more baskets giving Fullerton an 18-11 lead by 9:36.

The Gauchos did not go away easily as they went on a run of their own (12-5) tying the game up at 23-23 with 5:12 left in the half on a three-pointer by Janae Omusi. By halftime, Saddleback held a narrow 28-27 lead.

The Gauchos turned it on in the third quarter taking their largest lead of the game at 9 at the 2:34 mark.

In the fourth, Fullerton fought back to tie the game back up at 59-59 with just over a minute left in regulation. It was Buford's put-back shot that put the Gauchos on notice.

Two made free throws by Laura Tapia gave Saddleback a 64-62 lead with just seven second left, but on the Hornet's next possession, Tianna Buford drove into the key drawing a foul. Needing both free throws to tie the game with a second left on the clock, Buford hit both sending the game into overtime.

With two minutes left in overtime, Saddleback took a four-point advantage on a shot by Janae Omusi. From there, the Gauchos held off any Hornet advances to win the game.

The game featured 9 lead changes and 12 ties. Fullerton shot 37.3% to Saddleback's 37.7%. Also the Hornets led the way underneath out-rebounding the Gauchos 57 to 49.

Tianna Buford had one of her best games as a Hornet scoring a team-high 24 points tonight. She also added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Monica Hanna chippd in with 12 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double. Tristian Johns scored 10 points with 6 rebounds and Melody Thomsen dropped in 9 points with 5 rebounds.

Up Next: The Hornets (9-13, 1-5) hit the road this Friday, January 27th when they play against district rival #9 Cypress College. Game time is at 7:00 pm.

Like us on Facebook!