Mariners' Women's Basketball overcame several deficits against the Merritt College Thunderbirds to take a 69-63 win in the Bay Valley Conference opener in Oakland. The Mariners trailed at halftime and the end of the third quarter before scoring 27 points in the deceive fourth quarter. Victoria Lane and Janea Early paced the Mariners with 31 and 25 points respectively.
It was a wild and physical game from the outset with acrobatic steals and hard fouls all around. The Mariners offense was sluggish in the first half, as they were only able to muster 23 points in the first 20 minutes of play, as the Thunderbirds held a 32-23 lead at halftime.
Marin's offense woke up in the second half as the Mariners managed to outscore Merritt 19-12 to trail just 44-42 after three quarters of play. The fourth quarter was a wild affair, as the Mariners scored 27 points. The Mariners were reduced to just five players as Maya Murry-Pena fouled out, Early and Kyra Bolden toed the line as they finished the game with four fouls each. In the end Marin emerged with the 69-63 victory.
Lane led Marin with 31 points on 9-16 shooting and 13-19 from the line. She added six rebounds, five assists and eight steals while playing all 40 minutes. Early had 25 points for Marin on 9-18 shooting and 7-12 from the free throw line. She had yet another double double, her sixth of the year, with 12 rebounds. Marin shot 41 percent from the floor and 64% from the free throw line on their 44 attempts.
Marin looks to stay undefeated in Bay Valley Conference play as they host Mendocino College on Saturday, December 30th at 7:30PM.