Suasti Stars on Sophomore Night, Ave Drops 40 in Owls' Win

Citrus College Women's Basketball closed their home schedule Wednesday night with a 91-79 win over West Los Angeles College, marking the Owls' final home game of the season and a memorable Sophomore Night performance for Maileeh Suasti. The victory moves Citrus to 11-16 overall and 8-5 in conference play heading into their regular-season finale Friday at Glendale College.

Citrus seized momentum early, building a 15-7 lead midway through the first quarter behind aggressive defense and transition scoring. West LA responded late in the period to trim the margin to 18-17 and briefly grabbed its only lead early in the second on a 3-pointer. The Owls answered immediately with a dominant surge sparked by Jhavmine Ave, closing the half on a 24-11 run to take a 42-31 advantage into the break.

The Owls maintained control in the third quarter, stretching the lead to as many as 18 points. Ave continued her standout night, scoring at all three levels while creating for teammates as Citrus pushed the margin to 71-53 entering the fourth. West LA made a late push midway through the final period, but timely baskets from Suasti, Raynise Beserra and Brianna Gomez kept the cushion intact.

The Owls' defensive pressure forced 16 turnovers that turned into 16 points, while their pace in transition produced a 12-4 edge in fastbreak scoring. Citrus shot 47.2 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from beyond the arc, dished out 24 assists to just 11 turnovers, and built a lead that grew to 22 points midway through the fourth quarter.

Ave led all scorers with a dominant all-around effort, finishing with an Owls career-high 40 points on 17-of-28 shooting, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range, along with seven assists, six rebounds and six steals. On Sophomore Night, Suasti delivered a strong performance with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 at the line. Gomez added 10 points and a team-high eight assists, while Beserra recorded eight points, six rebounds and four assists. Lexie Navarro contributed four points and three rebounds.

Off the bench, Samantha Martinez chipped in nine points and Cassandra Fortuna scored two, while Setsianna Kraynak and Paisley Woo each grabbed four rebounds to help Citrus compete on the glass despite a 46-39 rebounding deficit.

West LA finished 30-of-72 (41.7 percent) from the field and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from 3-point range but shot 63.2 percent at the line and received no bench scoring.

Citrus will travel to Glendale for its final game of the season Friday, Feb. 20, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.