Gauchos claim double victory against Santa Ana on home court
Raven Gammage attempts a running floater in the closing seconds of the game. (Jason Chung)
The Saddleback women’s basketball team defeated Santa Ana again in the second round of the Orange Empire Conference schedule on Friday, while the men’s team redeemed its honor after its loss in the OEC opener.
The women’s team got a comfortable 10-point lead early on and managed to keep the distance throughout the game, ending it 69-57. The Gauchos made over half of its shots from the floor with a 51.1 percent average while the Dons only shot 36.4 percent.
Although the Gauchos only shot 37.5 percent in 3-pointers against the Dons’ 54.5 percent, they made up for the difference with a 15-20 free throw attempt.
“I think we did pretty good,” said Fentriss Winn, head coach of the women’s team, “We had two starters out that whole game. But Shalae Edwards played a good game and Raven Gammage showed good leadership.”
Raven Gammage led the team in points by scoring a total of 21 points. Shalae Edwards came in second with a total of 19.
The men’s team got heated early on as the teams answered shot after shot. But the Gauchos began pulling away after guard Josh Smith made a flamboyant dunk off of a fast break seven minutes into the game, ending the first half 31-21.
The Gauchos found their momentum in the second half as they continue to enlarge the gap between the teams, which saw some impressive passing by guards Aaron Brevard and Darnell Taylor, who scored a total of 17 and 12 points respectively. The game ended with a 72-42 victory for the Gauchos.
“I was especially satisfied by the defensive end, how they pressured up, got some turnovers, and some easy baskets that way,” said Andy Ground, head coach of the men’s team, “We did a nice job attacking the basket in the offensive end too.”
When asked if chances were good that they would win the OEC, Ground said it was too early to tell. “I think we are in a good spot today,” Ground said, “the next three or four games will decide for us.”