Mariners Women's Basketball visited the Laney College Eagles on Friday evening and fell in a close game 52-45. Marin trailed for the majority of the game but never lost touch with their hosts. Despite Kaleah Williams' 17 points, the Mariners could not overtake the Eagles from Oakland.
The first quarter, and half for that matter were a low scoring affair. Neither team could push past a point per minute pace as both teams deployed vastly different strategies. The Laney Eagles would throw the ball at the basket, utilizing their athleticism to grab and offensive rebound and a potential easy layup. The Mariners on the other hand, ran their offense, looking to exploit a mismatch or open shot opportunities. Neither proved to be effective as Laney led just 10-7 after the first quarter and 20-14 at halftime.
The game opened up in the second half as both teams crashed the glass hard to earn second chance opportunities. Marin nearly equaled their first half output in the third quarter with 14 points, while Laney scored 14 of their own. Marin trailed 34-27 heading to the final ten minutes but gave it their all.
The pace increased as Marin scored 18 points in the final quarter, unfortunately their defense allowed the same number as Laney edged the Mariners by a final score of 52-45.
Williams did her best to keep the Mariners in the game with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Vanessa Torres scored 15 of her own with three boards, four assists and three steals. Victoria Bing was tremendous in the paint with 18 rebounds and 10 points.
Marin shot just 27.8% as a team while Laney managed a 31.7% clip.
The loss dropped Marin's record to 2-5 in the Bay Valley Conference and 5-13 on the season. Next up for the Mariners is a home game against the Mendocino College Eagles on Friday, January 24th at 7:30pm.