Ave, Gomez Lead Owls’ Fourth-Quarter Surge Past West LA

Citrus College Women's Basketball took down West Los Angeles College 86–79 on Saturday, January 24. With the win, the Owls improved to 7–13 overall and 4–2 in conference play, while West LA falls to 0–20 overall and 0–6 in conference.

After falling behind 19–10 in the first quarter, Citrus bounced back in the second, outscoring the Wildcats 23–20 to trail 39–33 at halftime. The Owls were outscored 28–24 in the third quarter, despite shooting 10-of-18 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range, with Lexi Navarro contributing nine points and Jhavmine Ave eight in the quarter.

Trailing 67–57 entering the fourth, Citrus delivered one of its strongest quarters of the season, outscoring West LA 29–12. Jhavmine Ave led the charge with 12 points, Brianna Gomez added 10, and Samantha Martinez chipped in five, while the Owls forced 10 turnovers in the quarter to secure the victory.

Citrus shot 42.5% from the field (31-of-73) and 37.0% from three (10-of-27), while hitting 14-of-18 free throws (77.8%), compared to West LA's 52.3% from the field and 27.3% from three. The Owls dominated points off turnovers (22–11) despite committing just 10 turnovers themselves, and scored 10 second-chance points. West LA held a slight edge on the boards (37–33) and in the paint (36–26), but Citrus' fourth-quarter surge proved decisive. The game featured 11 ties and four lead changes, with the Owls' largest lead of seven coming late in the fourth quarter.

Citrus was paced by Jhavmine Ave, who poured in a game-high 32 points (her second highest scoring game of the season) on 11-of-24 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three, and added 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Brianna Gomez contributed 22 points, hitting 8-of-23 from the field with 3-of-11 from three, along with 2 rebounds. Lexie Navarro added 15 points, hitting 5-of-14 from the field and 5-of-11 from three, while grabbing 5 rebounds and recording a steal and block. Setsianna Kraynak had 5 points and 7 rebounds, and off the bench, Samantha Martinez scored 6 points with 3 rebounds and hit 2-of-4 from the line. Paisley Woo chipped in 4 points and 2 rebounds as Citrus' balanced scoring fueled their fourth-quarter surge to secure the 86–79 win.

Citrus will return home on Wednesday, January 28, to host Glendale College at 7 p.m.