Reedley College faced the top two women's basketball teams in the Central Valley Conference last week. After falling to a very athletic Merced College team on Jan. 22, the Lady Tigers bounced back with a big win over rival Fresno City College on Saturday.

The split left coach Dan Kilbert's squad with a conference record of 3-2 (good for third place) and an overall mark of 8-13 going into a Jan. 29 home game with Porterville.

It was Fresno's first conference loss, enabling Merced to take sole possession of first place.

One of the key stats in the Fresno win was free throw shooting as the Tigers made 20 of

22 from the foul line.

Four Tigers scored in double figures, led by Aurelie Bevao with 29 points. Bevao made 5 of 8 3-pointers and all eight of her free throws. Sam Mendoza added 18 points and 8 rebounds while Amanpreet Kaur had 16 points and five blocked shots. Annie Lopez had all 12 of her points in the second half. Chastity Martinez added 13 assists.

Reedley jumped out to a 10-2 lead before holding off the Rams comeback attempts On January 22, the Tigers were held to just four points in the fourth quarter in an 80-44 loss at Merced. Bevao led Reedley with 12 points but was only 1 of 10 from the 3-point line.

"Merced is a very fast team," said Tiger head coach Dan Kilbert. "Their team speed is the best in the league. We had a different outlook tonight. We didn't give up those speed points. We controlled their shooters. Amanpreet did a great job controlling the middle. Bevao played very well. She is obviously a very talented player."

Both Bevao and Martinez left the game after suffering minor injuries in the final minutes. Kilbert hopes they will both be available for the Jan. 29 home game with Porterville (5 pm start) and Saturday's 3 pm matchup at West Hills Lemoore.