Visalia, Calif. – After a dominant start to the season, the Mt. SAC Women's Basketball Team hit their first setback with a narrow 73–72 loss to San Joaquin Delta in the opening round of the Gilcrest Invitational, hosted by College of the Sequoias on Thursday, December 4. The Mounties rebounded quickly, however, rolling past Moorpark 66–46 on Friday and defeating LA Valley 86–43 on Saturday to close the tournament. Mt. SAC now stands at 9–1 overall.

GAME 1: San Joaquin Delta (6-2) 73, Mt. SAC 72

Things started off good for Mt. SAC, fueled by an incredible13-point first quarter from Elizabeth Udeze to take a 20–12 advantage. The Mounties kept the momentum going into halftime, with Tierra Taylor and Taliyah McFerson adding eight points each in the second quarter to push the lead to 44–31.

The tide shifted in the third, as San Joaquin Delta outscored Mt. SAC 23–11, cutting the Mounties' lead to just one at 55–54 entering the fourth. Delta's Aaliyah Youngblood, the game's top scorer, opened the final frame with back-to-back layups to give the Mustangs the lead.

With 48 seconds remaining, Naomi Acuna tied the game at 72–72, but a foul sent Youngblood to the line, where she sank a single free throw—ultimately the deciding point in the one-point loss.

GAME 2: Mt. SAC 66, Moorpark (8-2) 46

Mt. SAC bounced back in a big way. Dylan Tse led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down six three-pointers. McFerson followed with a strong double-double performance of 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Moorpark's offense was carried by Maleyni Tolliver, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn't enough to keep pace. The Mounties controlled the game statistically, shooting 41.8% from the field compared to Moorpark's 34%, outrebounding the Raiders 44–27, and dishing out 17 assists to their 11.

Head Coach Brian Crichlow relied heavily on his starting unit, keeping them on the floor for most of the contest while only briefly rotating in reserves.

GAME 3: Mt. SAC 86, LA Valley (2-6) 43

LA Valley struck first with a layup from Andreya Villa, but the Mounties answered immediately and never looked back. Free throws from Udeze and McFerson, along with layups by Janessa Rodriguez and Acuna, quickly put the Mounties back in the lead.

McFerson again led Mt. SAC with 16 points and six rebounds. Tse added 15 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and four steals in a well-rounded performance. Off the bench, Makayla Haddock drained a pair of threes and Zion Belcher-Arill contributed eight points.

The Monarchs had no players reach double figures, with Aliyah Muhammad leading with eight points and Leilani Richards grabbing a team-high three rebounds. The Mounties dominated across the board, including rebounds (40–21), points off turnovers (36–10), points in the paint (48–24), fastbreak points (14–2), and field goal percentage (57.1% to 37.5%).

NEXT UP:

The Mounties will compete in Buddy's All-Star Classic hosted by LA Valley College from December 11–13. They open against Ventura College (5–3) on Thursday, December 11.

STAY CONNECTED:

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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.