Gauchos charge over Lasers
The Lasers lost against the 7-1 conference record Gauchos, the women’s Saddleback basketball team beat their rivals at Irvine Valley College, 50-48 on Friday night.
The lady Gauchos have a 5-1 record on the road and are on a three game winning streak after their win in Irvine, with an overall record of 16-9 for the season.
Friday night started out slow for the women due to Irvine’s defense, to make it 6-0 Lasers in the first couple of minutes.
Guards Deja Brooks and Lillie Rellin had two steals during the first half that changed the momentum of the game for the Gauchos and with ll:45 to play, they came back to make the score 13-4.
The women kept the streak going and at the break they were close to tying the game with a score of 24-21, with Irvine still in the lead.
In the second half, the Gauchos had not acquired a lead yet with the Lasers scoring the first five points after the half, but that does not mean the Saddleback wasn’t fighting to come back!
Center Whitney Braeutigam had an overall 15 points, three rebounds and one assist to bring the women back in the game in the second half.
Braeutigam tied it up for the Gauchos at 34-34 with 11:33 left to play after being 2-for-2 at the free throw line and shortly there after, on a layup after a steal.
The Lasers weren’t giving up that easy and came back to find a temporary lead of 40-38 with 7:10 minutes to play.
Brooks scored the last point for the Gauchos with two free throws to end the game 50-48, Saddleback.
Rellin, who had three points and two assists, is hopeful for the women’s team to do well the rest of the season, “We’re taking it one game at a time,” said Rellin.
The lady Gauchos will take on the Dons in Santa Ana at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 19.