The San Diego City College women’s basketball team hosts the 2024 San Diego City College Knights Crossover this week.
- When: Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6
- Where: Harry West Gymnasium at San Diego City College
- Who: San Diego City College Knights (4-7), College of the Desert Roadrunners (1-3), Barstow Community College Vikings (1-6), San Bernardino Valley College (0-4)
- What: Two games each day. Live video of all four games will be available on the Knights YouTube Live page.
After an almost two-week break since back-to-back wins in the 2024 Knights Invitational, City (4-7) gets another chance for two home wins in successive days in the 2024 Knights Crossover with games against College of the Desert (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Barstow Community College (Friday, 3 p.m.).
San Bernardino Valley College rounds out the field of four for the Knights Crossover, playing Barstow on Thursday at 5 p.m. and Desert on Friday at 1 p.m.
The differences between the Knights’ opponents in the Crossover could not be more stark.
The Roadrunners are averaging 70.5 points per game behind the state’s No. 1 scorer Giovanna Espinoza, who averages 27.8 points per game. The Vikings average 33.5 points per game without a player averaging more than nine points per game and only two players averaging more than five points per game.
The College of the Desert is shooting an average of 40.8 3-pointers per game while Barstow gets up an average of 4.7 shots behind the arc, a difference of over 35 shots a game from deep.
The Vikings average 33.5 turnovers per game while the Roadrunners commit an average of 20.5 turnovers per game.
The Knights come into the Crossover averaging 55.1 points per game, shooting 32% from the field while holding opponents to an average of 63.5 points and 33.4% from the floor. City scoring is led by Aamori Daniels (16.1 ppg) and Dahlia Blake (14.6), with four other Knights averaging three or more points per game.
Daniels and Blake also lead the Knights’ rebounding (45.1 average per game), averaging 11 and 9.3, respectively, with help from Ximena Caballero (6.2) and Maddox Weisskopf (4.8).
Liliana Maldonado is the main Knight ball handler, assisting an average of 4.3 baskets per game with 5.9 turnovers per game.
After the Crossover, City plays on Dec. 13 at El Camino before a three-and-a-half-week break.
Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play for the Knights begins against Imperial Valley at Harry West Gym on Jan. 8.
Here’s what you need to know about the Knights’ Crossover opponents.
Thursday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. – College of the Desert Roadrunners
The Roadrunners (1-3) have lost three straight after a season-opening win over LA Harbor that saw them score 100 points on 91 shot attempts, including 47 from 3-point range. Head coach Henry Nguyen is in his first year at Desert and has a six-player roster with no players over 5-foot-6 (City has five over 5-foot-7). State scoring leader Espinoza shoots 39.8 percent from the field, including 33.3% from behind the 3-point arc. Audrey Tijerina adds 18 points per game and two others are averaging double figures.
Desert is averaging 41 3-pointers a game, making 11 (27.6%), while City attempts 11 per game, making 3.5 (20%). Roadrunner defense is stealing the ball 14 times a game with Espinosa leading the team with an average of six steals per game.
City is averaging almost 12 rebounds a game more than Desert (45.1-to-31.8). Esperanza Figueroa is the leading Roadrunner rebounder, averaging 8.3 per game, while teammate Olivia Castaneda pulls down an average of 7.8 per game.
Friday, Dec. 6, 3:00 p.m. – Barstow Community College Vikings
The Vikings (1-6) have lost their last five games, including a Dec. 3, 71-13 loss at Irvine Valley. City is averaging 55.1 points per game compared to Barstow’s 33.5. Viking scoring leaders include Alexys Gomez (8.6 points per game) and Natalie Thomas (7 points per game).
Barstow averages 22 rebounds per game while the Knights are averaging 45 rebounds per game. Viking Bailey Solano averages 8.8 rebounds per game and gets help from Leanne Domingo (6.6) and Jamiya Cantrell (6.3).
Ball handling has been an issue for the Vikings, who average 35.5 turnovers per game compared to City’s 24.2 turnovers per game. Gomez is averaging 13.6 turnovers per game while Solano is averaging 11.6 and leads the team in assists with an average of four per game.
