LATE PUSH LIFTS FC PAST SADDLEBACK

The No. 21 Hornets played on the road Wednesday night at Saddleback College and beat the Bobcats 85-66 thanks to a second half push.

It was a good Orange Empire Conference win for Fullerton putting the team at 2-0 in the conference standings, while Saddleback drops to 0-2 in the OEC.

The Bobcats and Hornets battled it out in the first half matching one another shot for shot. A jumper by Xochitl Hood gave Fullerton a 16-10 edge with 3 minutes left in the first quarter, however Saddleback pulled within 2 points (20-18) by the start of the second. Erin Choi dropped a three-pointer at the 7-minute mark of the second quarter lifting the Hornets 27-20, but by the time halftime rolled around Saddleback took off on a 20-10 run that gave the team a halftime lead of 40-37.

The game turned on a dime for the Hornets in the second half as the team ran away with the game thanks to a 25-13 run in the third quarter. Fullerton did not let up in the fourth grabbing its largest lead of 22 with just over a minute left in the game as the Hornets burned the rest of the time off the clock for the much-needed conference win.

Julianna Conklin had her best game as a Hornets pouring in 21 points along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Xochitl Hood scored 14 points, had 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while Erin Choi put up 13 points, had 5 boards, and 6 assists. Kaylee Shimoda had 11 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Brittlay Carillo dropped in 10 points, brought down 6 rebounds, and had 3 assists for the win.

Up Next: The No. 21 Hornets (14-4 overall, 2-0 OEC) will bring it back home this Friday, January 17th when No. 16 Santa Ana College comes to the Nest for a big OEC game. Tipoff is at 6:00 pm. Come out and support the team for this big game.

*Photo by Matt Brown