SANTA ANA, Calif. - It was a sluggish start for the SAC Women's basketball team on Wednesday night as they hosted Fullerton in an OEC contest and their first home game of 2022. 

The Dons had some open looks but shot just 10 percent (2-20) to post just five points in the first quarter to fall behind 19-5. Dylan Payne scored all five with a layup at the 8:48 mark and a 3-pointer with 4:18 on the clock. 

But thankfully, SAC picked things up in the second quarter and pulled to within 10 (27-17) at half behind a big performance from Heather Matthews, who put up seven points and four rebounds in the quarter. 

In the third it was Fullerton who saw its offense come to life as the Hornets increased their lead to 19 with 23 points in the period. 

But the lead was not safe as the Dons started to click, getting production from several key players final period. Santa Ana went on a 14-5 run with Mathews, Nicole Robles, Jade Munoz and Sophia Escalante all scoring big buckets to cut the lead to 10 with 2:36 left in the game. 

SAC continued chipping away and cut the deficit to three points (60-57) with 2 seconds remaining. But with not enough time to get another possession, the Dons fell short of the comeback, dropping the game by a score of 62-57. 

Robles came off the bench to give the Dons a team high 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting with three long balls. Escalante and Matthews filled the stat sheet with 10 points each while combining for 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Santa Ana is set for another home game on Friday, January 28th against Orange Coast starting at 6:00 p.m.