Cypress Upset in Second Straight Loss
Thomas scored 13 points Thursday night. |
November 9th, 2006
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Merced, Calif. – The Chargers started the Merced Shootout tournament off the same way they have the past two seasons, with a loss. After a long drive to Merced, the injury addled Chargers played a late night back and forth game against Sacramento City which ended in a loss 55-60. Sophomore forward Brandi Thomas led Cypress with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Cypress started with the momentum jumping to an early 6-2 lead. Merced came back to tie it at 6 which became the pattern throughout the game. Cypress would go into the locker room at half with a two point lead in a low scoring half 28-26. The second half proved to be more of the same with a total of fifteen ties and nine lead changes. The Chargers out-shot Sac City but shot an abysmal 38% from the free-throw line going 6 for 16 from the stripe while. Sac City countered with the opposite effect earning 26 points from the free-throw line alone. Cypress was down by three with 45 seconds left but could not get a stop and was forced to foul for the second straight game to eventually lose by five. Charger freshmen stepped up to fill roles as freshman guard Saw-Ann Bryan contributed 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Freshman Renee Stewart added 8 points and 2 steals.
Cypress falls to 0-2, their worst record since 2001. The Chargers move to the loser’s bracket in the Merced Shootout tournament. They face the host school Merced Friday with the winner going to the consolation championship and the loser is eliminated. Merced is 0-1 after a 61-54 loss. The two face off at Merced at 3:00 pm.