Visalia, Calif. – There's no easy way to take this loss. It hurt and it was hard to watch.

After an incredibly successful regular season and a dominant run through the Southern California Regional playoffs, the No. 1 ranked Mt. SAC Women's Basketball Team saw their championship hopes come to an end Thursday night, falling to No. 4 seeded Fresno City College 77–65 in the opening round of the 3C2A Women's Basketball State Championship Tournament.

The Mounties conclude the season with an impressive 29–2 record, while Fresno City advances to face MiraCosta College in the semifinal round on Saturday.

The Mounties entered the tournament hoping to bring home back-to-back state championships after last year's title run at home. Instead, they leave Visalia with lessons learned and motivation to build toward next season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

As a reminder, Mt. SAC and Fresno City had met earlier in the season, with the Mounties earning an 82–71 victory in that matchup. The major difference this time around? Mt. SAC was without a key piece of their lineup as SCC Player of the Year and SoCal State Player of the Year Taliyah McFerson was sidelined due to injury.

McFerson had been dominant in the earlier matchup, scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, and her absence was felt throughout Thursday's game.

Let's dive into how it went down.

The first quarter went as expected – a tight matchup with several ties and lead changes as both teams battled it out for a spot in the next round. Elizabeth Udeze got the Mounties on the board first with a jump shot before Fresno responded with a three-pointer from Sara Shein. Mt. SAC regained the lead with free throws from Janessa Rodriguez and a layup by Dylan Tse, but the Rams answered again to keep the game close.

Udeze found herself in foul trouble minutes into the first period, causing Coach Crichlow to pull his best ball handler from the court and use her strategically throughout the game.  Despite the challenge, the Mounties held a narrow 17–15 lead at the end of the first quarter after Tierra Taylor knocked down two free throws.

Mt. SAC briefly extended its lead early in the second quarter when Tse connected on a three-pointer to make it 20–18, but that would be their last lead of the game. 

Fresno City responded with an 11–0 run fueled by a series of three-pointers from Jaelyn Bourdeau, Kayla Silva and Destiny Edwards, along with a layup from Silva, giving the Rams a 31–20 advantage.

From there, Fresno maintained control, outscoring the Mounties 28–17 in the second quarter to take a 43–34 lead into halftime.

The Mounties were able to keep pace with the Rams in the second half, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done and closing the gap proved too tough a task.

Mt. SAC put up 16 points in the third and 15 points in the fourth with fairly even contributions across the roster with no one player having a standout performance. It was a true team effort as they tried to claw their way back into the game.

For Fresno City, Alyssa Kem scored 10 points in the third quarter while Sara Shein added 12 points in the fourth to help seal the 77–65 victory.

With seconds left on the clock, Crichlow put an injured McFerson in the game, giving her a chance to play in the state championship and close out her career as a Mountie. 

KEY PLAYERS:

• Sara Shein (Fresno): Game-high 24 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
• Alyssa Kem (Fresno) 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Dylan Tse: Team-high 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
• Elizabeth Udeze: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

SEASON RECAP:

Despite the upset at the State Championship, the Mounties had an excellent season with more than enough success to be proud of.

Mt. SAC scored 2,525 total points, averaging 81.5 points per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Defensively, the Mounties held opponents to just 48.1 points per game and a 32.2% field goal percentage.

They averaged 45 rebounds per game, compared to 30.2 for opponents, along with 17.4 assists, 11.0 steals and 1.6 blocks per contest.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS:

Taliyah McFerson led the Mounties with 504 points and 299 rebounds and ranked second in the state with a 61.5% field goal percentage.

Dylan Tse finished with 420 points and 121 rebounds while ranking fourth in the state in free-throw percentage (83.1%), going 64-of-77.

Elizabeth Udeze added 409 points and 175 rebounds while finishing fourth in the state in assists with 172.

Makayla Haddock ranked second in the state in three-point shooting, connecting on 40.9% from beyond the arc while scoring 223 points.

CONFERENCE & STATE HONORS:

The Mounties swept the South Coast Conference major awards:

• Taliyah McFerson – SCC Player of the Year
• Tierra Taylor – SCC Freshman of the Year
• Brian Crichlow – SCC Coach of the Year

Elizabeth Udeze, Dylan Tse and Naomi Acuna were named All-SCC North Division First Team, while Makayla Haddock, Janessa Rodriguez and Armani Owens earned Second Team honors.

At the state level, McFerson was named State Player of the Year, Udeze earned All-State First Team honors, and Tse was named All-State Third Team.

NEXT UP:

While the Mounties fell short of their goal of capturing back-to-back 3C2A State Championships, the program once again proved itself among the best in California.

With a 29-win season, conference dominance, and multiple postseason honors, the Mounties close the 2025–26 campaign with plenty to be proud of — and strong momentum heading into next year. Go Mounties.

STAY CONNECTED:

Follow Mt. SAC Women's Basketball on Twitter @MtSAC_WBKB or Instagram /mt.sacwbk/

Follow Mt. SAC Athletics on Twitter @MtSAC_athletics Instagram /mtsac_athletics/ or Facebook @Mountie.Athletics

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