SANTA ANA - The Dons used a late run in the first half and never looked back to win their semifinal match against Moorpark College 70-61. The win moves the Dons into the championship game as they look to defend their title.
This is the second straight year the Dons (3-5) have defeated Moorpark (4-3) in this tournament as they claimed the championship over the Raiders a year ago. Next up for the Dons is Bakersfield College at 4:00 PM in the championship game.
Moorpark held a one-point lead at 19-18 with 6:37 remaining in the first half as neither team was able to take a lead larger than five points up to that point. But Kylie Rodriguez would hit a jump shot to put the Dons up 20-19 and SAC wouldn't relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.
That jumper sparked an 18-6 run the Dons used to close out the first half and take a 36-25 lead into the break. The highlight of that run belonged to Celia Duran who scored seven-straight points on back-to-back layups and a three-pointer.
In the second half, the Dons built a lead as large as 21 points at 60-39 before Moorpark started to rally. The Raiders were able to cut the Dons lead down to nine points but that came in the final minute of the game as SAC held on for the 70-61 win.
Gamboa led the way for the Dons with 14 points while Rodriguez scored 12, Jamease Paige scored 11 and Duran scored 10. Moorpark's Sydney Bennett scored a game-high 22 points in the losing effort.
Other Tournament Games
West Hills-Lemoore opened Saturday's game with a 75-34 win over MiraCosta to move into the consolation championship where the Eagles will face Merced after the Blue Devils defeated San Diego Mesa 48-35. The consolation championship game will be at 12:00 PM.
In the first game of the championship bracket, Bakersfield improved to 7-0 on the season and moved on to the championship game with its 62-54 win over San Bernardino Valley. Bakersfield will take on the host Dons at 4:00 PM in the championship game while San Bernardino Valley will play Moorpark at 2:00 PM in the third place game.
