Golden West Celebrates Sophomore Night with a Victory

Huntington Beach, Calif. - Golden West women's basketball (16-12, 6-8 OEC) won their final regular season game against the Fullerton Hornets (13-15, 4-10 OEC), 70-62. 

The night began with appreciation of the single sophomore on the Women's basketball squad. Kim Rivera was honored with a line of her teammates on the court before the game with flowers and presents to celebrate her time at Golden West. Captain of the team, her fellow Rustlers showed their admiration and love as she encapsulated what it meant to play for Rustler nation. 

The game began as a back and forth affair with the first quarter ending in a one point difference, 17-16. It was a team effort for the first ten minutes of play as Kayla Terry led the team in points with five and Rivera was right behind with four. Golden West gained some separation in the second quarter as they outscored Fullerton 22-15 with Makayla Heffernan as the lead scorer with seven. The home team was up at half by eight points, 39-31. 

Golden West was consistent in the third quarter as they again out scored the Hornets by eight points to keep their advantage, 57-41. However in the final frame, Fullerton made up a huge amount of ground and made a comeback. The Rustlers allowed the Hornets to score 16 unanswered points to come within two, 61-59. In the final four minutes of regulation, Golden West worked to close out the victory. The home team did just that and secured the win to close out the season, 70-2. 

Terry earned herself a double-double with her 15 points scored, team leading 19 rebounds and also collected two steals. Princess McCauley found the bucket the most for Golden West with 20 points scored and led the team in both assists with four and steals with six. In her final game, Rivera scored four points, three assists and two rebounds to lead her team to victory. Golden West won their final four games to end their season 16-12 and 6-8 in conference play to finish fifth in the Orange Empire Conference. 

NEXT UP: Golden West Women's basketball has concluded their 2023-24 season.