No. 22 Dons Upsets No. 15 Long Beach City, 60-48
No. 22 Santa Ana Women's Basketball knocked off No. 15 Long Beach City for their sixth win of the season.
SANTA ANA, Calif. - In a battle between two top 25 ranked teams, it was No. 22 Santa Ana who came away with the win as they defeated No. 15 Long Beach City (3-5) by a score of 60-48 at home on Tuesday night.
The Dons (6-2) turned up the heat defensively after putting on a halfcourt press to start the second quarter. SAC went on a 15-7 run in the quarter to take a 27-20 lead into halftime.
In the third, Long Beach was able to settle in, making a small run toward the end of the period with a couple of banked threes. But the Dons stayed the course and finished the night outscoring the Vikings 19-11 in the fourth.
SAC held the Viking offense to 30.6 percent (15-49) from the field and forced 21 turnovers, which led to 23 points (15 fast break).
Anaya Beard led all scorers with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting in just 19 minutes. She also added five rebounds and a steal before exiting the game with an injury midway through the fourth.
Sophomore guards Mia Rivera and Kiki Graham posted 13 points each. Rivera added seven boards, six assists, two steals and a block while Graham was steady with four rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals and no turnovers.
And although the boxscore didn't show it, the Dons got a game changing jolt of energy from sophomore Jayleen Rivera. The guard out of California High was critical in forcing turnovers in the press during the second period run. All four of her points came in that quarter thanks to a couple of break away layups on forced turnovers. She also added three assists in just 16 minutes of action.
Santa Ana will now prepare to host their annual tournament that is set for December 4-6. They'll match up with No. 23 San Diego Mesa, LA Harbor and Bakersfield during the three day event.