The Knights earned second place at their own Colbert Classic tournament over the weekend after winning two of three games. City defeated Taft and Imperial Valley to advance to the championship game, but fell to Santa Barbara, 68-54.
Samera Henry, who averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds over the three games, and Evangeline Morga, who averaged 10.3 points and 3.4 assists were named to the all-tournament team.
The Knights started off the tournament with a 67-53 victory over Taft. City fell behind by 13 in the first quarter, but climbed their way back to within four at the half.
The Knights outscored Taft 19-9 in the third quarter and then put the game away by winning the fourth quarter, 17-9.
Henry scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Morga had 13 points five assists and four steals. Desiree Prado had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
The semifinal game against PCAC foe Imperial Valley came down to the wire. The Knights were ahead by six points with 3:27 remaining but three consecutive IVC buckets tied the game.
After an IVC missed jumper, the Knights had the ball with 17 seconds left. Aviva Garcia got the ball after a timeout and drove towards the basket and made a layup with 2.7 remaining. Imperial Valley's Nancy Clark had a good look at a potential game-winning three pointer, but it rimmed out and the Knights came away with the 51-49 win.
Mikaelah Wieland led City with 18 points and six rebounds. Morga added 12 points and eight rebounds.
In the championship game, the Knights were down four points at the half and six points with 2:13 left in the third quarter, but Santa Barbara went on a 19-5 run to take a commanding 64-44 lead with 4:44 remaining in the game.
Henry scored 18 points and brought down 12 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
The Knights will travel north to play in the City College of San Francisco tournament beginning on Friday, December 18. Their opening round opponent will be Sierra with the tip scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
