After slow start, women’s basketball team rolls
Looking to keep pace with Foothill College and stay atop the Coast Conference standings, the City College women’s basketball team took another step toward locking up a top seed in the California State Playoffs with a 85-53 shellacking of Skyline College Feb. 2 at the Wellness Center.
By Aaron Turner
Contributing Writer
Looking to keep pace with Foothill College and stay atop the Coast Conference standings, the City College women’s basketball team took another step toward locking up a top seed in the California State Playoffs with a 85-53 shellacking of Skyline College Feb. 2 at the Wellness Center.
Sophomore forward Shawnte Taylor led the Rams with 25 points, freshman point guard Hallie Meneses scored 20. Fellow freshman Janis Peterson added 17 points while going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, helping the Rams win their seventh consecutive game.
With the win, City College (20-5, 6-1) moved a half game ahead of Foothill (20-4, 5-1) in the Coast Conference, with three games remaining on the schedule.
Although the Rams started off slow in the opening minutes, they were able to build a 40-33 lead going into halftime thanks to Peterson’s three-pointer with time expiring.
The second half was all Rams as they went on a 10-2 run and never looked back.
“We came out lackadaisical, I thought, in the beginning of the game,” Taylor said. “Coach pulled us in at halftime and told us to just do what we do best: play together and play city ball.”
After being limited to only one three-pointer in the first half, City College’s sharp-shooting Peterson proceeded to hit four in the second half, helping push the Rams to their lopsided victory.
Peterson said Rams head coach Jamie Hayes was able to give her a boost of confidence at halftime with four simple words.
“‘Good shooters keep shooting,’” Peterson quoted Hayes as saying. “We can’t take any team for granted, and she really gave me more confidence.”
“Janis is such a great shooter,” Hayes said. “She [shoots] 40 percent from the three-point line, and I think she should always have that confidence to take the shots that are there for her.”
With only one more home game in the regular season, the Rams know they can’t get ahead of themselves if they expect to claim a second straight Coast Conference title.
“We’re taking this one game at a time these last three games,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to get through these games, get through playoffs and try to get to State.”
The Rams next take the court on the road Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m. against the College of San Mateo.
