Cypress Debuts at Home and in Tournament with First Win of the Season
Jolly had three three-pointers Friday night. |
November 30, 2007
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Cypress, Calif. – The Chargers hosted their home opener and the first round of the 24th annual Lady Charger Classic Friday night against American River. After a tight first half, Cypress gained an edge in the second half and held on for their first win of the season 70-64. Freshman guard Kejera Jolly paced Cypress with 11 points including three three-pointers.
Cypress and American River battled through the entire first half. The Chargers could not gain the lead but tied the scored several times finishing with a three-pointer by Jolly to close out the half in a 32-32 tie. Cypress took their first lead of the game a minute into the second half as sophomore forward Letisha Batiste sunk a jumper giving Cypress a 36-34 lead. The Chargers held on to the lead from there extending it as far as 14 points before American River fought back making Cypress nervous with a 10-0 run cutting the Charger lead to four with 3:13 left in the game. The Chargers woke up and utilized made free-throws to hold on to the lead and take the six point victory.
Batiste finished the game with a team high ten rebounds while adding eight points. Freshman guard Sequana Norris scored a game high 17 points and neared a double-double with nine rebounds in addition to three steals. Sophomore forward Saw-Ann Bryan also neared a double-double with ten points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Tara Smith went four for eight from the field for ten points on the night.
Cypress improves to 1-5 on the season and moves on to the second round of the Lady Charger Classic facing Palomar. Palomar is 6-3 and coming off of a first round win against East Los Angeles 72-51. The teams will face off in the semifinals Saturday at 8:00 pm at Cypress.