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Moriah Halteman breaking through the UCI defense. (Photo: Jackie Finlan)
This was a forfeit win for Claremont (read more) and it ended up being a 10s game. This situation occurred because Eastern Washington applied for and won an at-large berth and then withdrew. The West Coast conference then scrambled to fill out the bracket, and Sacramento State and Santa Clara were considered, but come game time, the latter didn’t have the numbers. Seriously need to reconsider how the spring playoffs in the west are structured.
The teams traded tries in the first half and went into the break 22-all. No. 8 Anna DuBois scored three tries and was pretty tough to stop five meters out from the line. The 49ers captain, flyhalf Teresa Fuentes Castilla, and flanker/kicker Mikaela Solorzano worked really nicely together and were the spark for the SoCal side.
In the second half, however, the UN Reno forwards started to break down the Long Beach State defense, and flyhalf Rachel Aldax did well to put strikers Taylor Tito (fullback) and Audrey Snow (wing) into space to further spread the 49ers. Nevada added four tries in 20 minutes and put the game out of reach.
The teams were tied 31-all heading into halftime, and then Catholic took a three-point lead with a penalty. UNCC captain and try-scorer Bridget Drake had to leave the pitch concussed, and that could have been shifted momentum for good.
“Antares Lance stepped in as captain and led the team to turn the game around,” UNCC head coach Allie Pickett praised. Lance went scored five tries on the day, while Ciarra Huhman and conversion kicker Nicole Mitchell also scored a try each.