2008 Woodie Awards
End Comes to Successful Women's Basketball Season
Riverside squad routs Owls early in second-round playoff contest
Jon Dustin Brooks
Issue date: 3/9/05 Section: Sports
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The women's basketball season was halted Saturday night at the hands of Riverside College.
The 10th-seeded Owls fell to the second-seeded Tigers, 66-50, in the second round of the Southern California Regionals, ending their season one victory shy of a first-ever trip to the state tournament.
The game was largely decided in the first half.
Riverside went on a 21-2 run midway through the first period, limiting Citrus to only two field goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half.
The Tigers also forced the Owls into 16 first-half turnovers and held a 35-13 advantage at the break.
"We came out without any intensity at all in the first half of the game, and it's hard to fall behind like that to a good team like Riverside and be able to come back," said Owls' fourth-year head coach Dr. Ken Guttman.
Citrus played a better second half, much like it has all season, cutting the deficit to as close as 11 points with 6:26 remaining.
Riverside quickly answered with its own 9-0 run, started by three straight baskets by freshman guard Shavonne Smith, effectively silencing the Owls for good.
Smith led all scorers with 24 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
"I'm really proud of the girls," Guttman said. "They showed a lot of character in the second half of the game, just like they have done all year.
"We weren't picked to do anything at all this year, and we came out and won our conference and went to the playoffs. We learned a lot, and hopefully next year we can come out and be even better," he said.
Freshman forward Alexis Pope paced the Citrus offense on the night. Pope scored 20 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. She also had four steals and two blocked shots.
A graduate of Ganesha High School, Pope was named a first-team selection of the California Community Colleges Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-State Team.
She was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Western State Conference by a vote of the league's coaches on Feb. 22, and a member of the All-WSC first team.
The 10th-seeded Owls fell to the second-seeded Tigers, 66-50, in the second round of the Southern California Regionals, ending their season one victory shy of a first-ever trip to the state tournament.
The game was largely decided in the first half.
Riverside went on a 21-2 run midway through the first period, limiting Citrus to only two field goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half.
The Tigers also forced the Owls into 16 first-half turnovers and held a 35-13 advantage at the break.
"We came out without any intensity at all in the first half of the game, and it's hard to fall behind like that to a good team like Riverside and be able to come back," said Owls' fourth-year head coach Dr. Ken Guttman.
Citrus played a better second half, much like it has all season, cutting the deficit to as close as 11 points with 6:26 remaining.
Riverside quickly answered with its own 9-0 run, started by three straight baskets by freshman guard Shavonne Smith, effectively silencing the Owls for good.
Smith led all scorers with 24 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
"I'm really proud of the girls," Guttman said. "They showed a lot of character in the second half of the game, just like they have done all year.
"We weren't picked to do anything at all this year, and we came out and won our conference and went to the playoffs. We learned a lot, and hopefully next year we can come out and be even better," he said.
Freshman forward Alexis Pope paced the Citrus offense on the night. Pope scored 20 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. She also had four steals and two blocked shots.
A graduate of Ganesha High School, Pope was named a first-team selection of the California Community Colleges Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-State Team.
She was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Western State Conference by a vote of the league's coaches on Feb. 22, and a member of the All-WSC first team.