As Cal State LA’s women’s basketball team trailed 68-66 with around one minute to play against the Central Washington Wildcats, the Golden Eagles saw their hopes of an undefeated nonconference record on the ropes on Thursday, Dec. 19. With nine lead changes and emotions running high throughout, LA needed someone to be entrusted with the big moment.
That person ended up being Amaya Fuentes. The six-foot-four forward had only made one 3-pointer on four attempts before guard Gabriella Rones set her up for a fifth attempt from behind the arc. LA’s bench and home crowd erupted as the ball left Fuentes’ hands and swished through the net. The three gave the Golden Eagles a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the next minute, sealing a 71-68 win over the visiting Wildcats.
“I was just happy that Gabby trusted me enough to give me the ball,” said Fuentes. “She knew that once it left my hand, she knew I made it.”
Trust manifested itself in various forms during Thursday’s win. Four Golden Eagles scored in double figures, including Fuentes and Rones, who scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Defensively, LA held a Wildcats team shooting 39.3% from three this season to just five-of-22 from behind the arc, a 22.7% field goal rate.
However, their trust was tested when the Wildcats got going. After starting cold in the first quarter, the visitors took the lead by scoring 24 points in the second quarter, with senior guard Sunny Huerta scoring 11. She finished with a game-high 28 points.
That momentum continued into the third, where the Wildcats controlled pace by making half of their 12 shots in the quarter.
But Fuentes’ confidence wasn’t shaken, saying basketball is a game of runs.
“They’re a good team. They’re going to go on runs, we’re going to go on runs,” she said. “As long as we stay playing our type of basketball, then we know we’ll be able to pick it up.”
Indeed, LA picked up momentum with two minutes left in the third. Down by six, guard Lily Buggs drove into the paint, threw up a layup while falling forward after getting fouled, and watched as the ball rattled around the rim and fell for an and-one that started a 16-3 run. Buggs led all LA scorers with 14 points while notching a team-high seven rebounds and five assists.
Head coach Torino Johnson praised his team’s intensity as they pushed through their mid-game struggles.
“They were able to respond. They got punched in the mouth a little bit,” Johnson said. “We were fighting for momentum and so we were able to gather it, but we were able to do it together.”
Part of that togetherness was a variety of players stepping up, as LA’s bench scored 22 points. Perhaps nobody stepped up more than sophomore guard Ronyae Jackson.
In 18 minutes of action, she scored a career-high nine points while picking up her defensive assignments from full court and diving for loose balls. Jackson has played 13.62 minutes per game this season after playing just six-and-a-half minutes on average last season. She said this game was the best performance of her college career.
“I’m happy that my coach trusted me enough to put me in these types of games because last year, I wasn’t really able to play as much,” she said
Jackson also talked about how the defense shut down Huerta in the second half. While Huerta shot 10-20 from the field, she shot two-for-seven in the second half as LA honed in on her.
“She was their main threat, so guarding her and making her not take as many shots or make as many shots was really crucial for us,” she said. “It made the other team, other players have to make decisions.”
Despite the Golden Eagles’ momentum in the fourth, Central Washington did not go away. The Wildcats shot 12 free throws in the quarter, converting on nine. Despite LA’s excellent defense, they could not pull away, shooting four-for-13 in the quarter. With a chance to end the game after being fouled with nine seconds left, guard Sofia Fidelus split her two free throws. Fidelus ended her night with 11 points on four-for-nine shooting.
That miss allowed Central Washington a chance to tie the game at 71 on their final possession. However, Fidelus was ready to ice the game. Her hand was right in the face of the Wildcats’ Asher Cai when she shot a three that missed everything as time expired.
“You’re looking at a team that just continues to get better,” said Johnson after the win. “We’re poised, and you see them growing as a team individually…being able to step in when their number is called.”
With the win over Central Washington, the Golden Eagles end nonconference play with an undefeated record. They also end their longest homestand of the season with a 5-1 record, with Thursday’s win and the win over Azusa Pacific being the most notable.
The team now embarks on a season-long five game road-trip, not returning to the University Gym until Thursday, Jan. 16, when they play San Francisco State.
