Cypress Streak Broken at Home
Thomas scored a career high 23 points Friday. |
December 15th, 2006
box score
Cypress, Calif. – The Chargers were hosting San Francisco in their last home game before the tough Orange Empire Conference. Cypress let a close game get away from them in the end losing to San Francisco 59-68 to fall back to .500. Sophomore forward Brandi Thomas was a bright spot for Cypress scoring a career high and game high 23 points outscoring her previous high by 8 points. She also made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. Thomas shot 75% on the night going 9 for 12 from the field to reach double figures for her sixth straight game.
Cypress started with a narrow lead before giving it up allowing the Rams to get up to as much as a six point lead late in the first half. Cypress was able to climb back up to a low scoring tie at 26 at the half. The Chargers gained momentum in the second half jumping to a three point lead but San Francisco would not go away tying the score and eventually the lead. The lead exchanged hands six times and was tied up five times in just the second half. The score was tied at 58 with just 3:32 left on the clock when the Rams drained a three-point bucket to take the lead again. The Chargers came back with several three-point attempts of their own but could not convert eventually having to resort to fouling to stop the clock. San Francisco converted their free throw attempts holding Cypress to just one point in the remaining three minutes for the nine point victory.
Sophomore guard Brae Butler added to the scoring with 18 points along with 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Freshman forward Saw-Ann Bryan made a balanced contribution scoring 6 points with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Chargers have no time off heading to the Canyons Crossover tomorrow for their second game in a series of three straight this weekend. The Chargers face off with rival Ventura Saturday. The Pirates are 10-4 this season coming off of a narrow 55-53 win over Canyons for the Rose City Classic Consolation Championship. Cypress beat the Pirates in a buzzer beater last season for a two point victory. The Pirates will try to get their revenge and Cypress will try to maintain their upper hand Saturday at 3:00 pm at Canyons.