SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Santa Ana College Women's Basketball team hosted Rio Hondo College in its 2017-18 home opener on Friday night. Santa Ana cashed in on the opportunity to get back to a .500 winning percentage as they defeated the Roadrunners 77-69 to improve to a record of 3-3.
The Dons got off to a fast start, scoring 22 points on 10-15 shooting in the first quarter to take a 22-12 lead. In the second quarter, Rio Hondo worked themselves back into the game with a 19-15 run to cut the lead to just six by halftime.
Rio Hondo kept cutting into the Don lead early in the third, getting to within three (41-38) with 6:32 left in the quarter. The tide would change after Don freshman forward Candace Black got her offense going with six of her 24 points in the quarter.
Santa Ana held the Roadrunners off for another quarter to earn their first home win of the season.
The real story of the game was the Dons initial defense versus Rio Hondo's offensive rebounding ability. Santa Ana forced Rio Hondo to shoot just 33.3 (27-81) percent from the floor, going 0-11 from behind the arch but the Roadrunners made up for their poor shooting with 23 offensive rebounds.
Alexis Casillas came up big for the Dons, pulling down 20 of the teams 41 rebounds to go along with 15 points and 5 assists. Candace Black led the Dons in scoring with 24 (17 in the second half) in the game.
Santa Ana will stay home for their next matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 21st against Bakersfield College at 5:00 p.m. The two teams met earlier this year in the Riverside City College tournament with the Dons edging out Bakersfield for the 70-52 win.