Atherton, Calif. - The women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 75-55 loss at Menlo College on Saturday night.
Despite what the final score shows, the Golden Eagles actually battled and were within striking distance, until fading in the final five minutes of the game.
Melanie Henderson's 3-point basket gave the Golden Eagles an early 16-11 lead six minutes into the game. But over the next three minutes, the Oaks used a 12-0 run to take a 23-16 lead of their own.
La Sierra then cut the lead to 23-22 with a 6-0 run of their own, before heading in to the halftime break, trailing the Oaks 37-30.
In the opening minutes of the second half, a Kristin Brummett field goal cut the lead to 39-35, but Menlo quickly pushed the lead to double-digits (45-35) with the help of six unanswered points.
Tina Fantroy's 3-point shot cut the lead back to four points, 45-41, with 12:11 remaining, but he Oaks got the points right back when Jenna Arnett connected on her only 3-point shot of the night.
But La Sierra wasn't about to go away, Brummett's two made free-throws cut the lead to 50-47, with 7:29 remaining. But once again, Menlo quickly scored eight points, pushing the lead back to 58-47.
Over the final two plus minutes of play, the Oaks doubled their lead and cruised to their 10th victory in Cal Pac play and yet another undefeated conference season.
Tina Fantroy led the Golden Eagles with 15 points and eight rebounds, to go along with three assists and one steal. Kristin Brummett added 10 points and four rebounds, while Melanie Henderson contributed eight points and three rebounds. Faith Fantroy factored in with six points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists.
The Golden Eagles women's basketball team finished the regular season with an even 5-5 record in Cal Pac play (9-16 overall).
Prior to the game, both teams already knew who they would be facing in next weekend's Cal Pac Conference Championship Tournament. The women's basketball team earned the No. 3 seed and will face the No. 2 seeded California Maritime Academy, host of the conference tournament. The semifinal match-up is scheduled for a 4pm, next Sunday, March 1.
The other semifinal match-up pits the No. 4 seed, University of California – Merced versus the No. 1 seed Menlo College. The winner of each semifinal game will face-off for the Cal Pac Championship and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament, on Tuesday, March 3.
