The Skyline women’s basketball team dropped a hard-fought game to Chabot College 70-58, falling to a 7-3 record in conference play. Chabot player Mia Finnie scored a game-high 23 points in the winning effort for the Crusaders who leapfrogged Skyline in the standings.

This was their first-time meeting since Jan. 18 when Chabot defeated Skyline 64-60 in Hayward. It was the last time that Skyline suffered a loss since then, as they came into the game on a 5-game winning streak.

Skyline came into the game looking strong with a ton of communication on the defensive end and great ball movement on the offensive side. Sophomore Keri La nailed a buzzer-beater to end the first quarter on a 13-13 tie.

“There was only a little bit of time left, I think we were down two, and we just needed to get a shot off before the quarter ended,” said La who finished with eight points and was a constant force that Chabot couldn’t deal with.

Halfway through the second quarter, Skyline guard Michala O’Donoghue started a 7-0 run with a steal that led to an easy layup. Overall it led to Skyline retaking the lead, 26-21. However, turnovers on offense plagued Skyline throughout the first half and kept Chabot within striking distance as they trailed 32-27 at halftime.

“There were some careless turnovers and some where our game plan just got a little too predictable, so Chabot was able to jump into our passing lanes,”said Chris Watters, head coach of the team.

Going into the fourth quarter, Skyline fell apart on the offensive side where ball movement and communication were lacking compared to where it was at the start of the game. As for Chabot, an animated head coach led to a more vocal team on defense and playing at a faster pace, getting points off of transition.

“I think we could have made that extra pass, to get a better shot selection, rather than shooting it on the first pass,” sophomore guard Giselle Mahinay said. “I think we need to be more together as a team rather than a one-on-one type offense.”

Going forward, Skyline has two remaining games left in the regular season, at home against Las Positas, then closing on the road in San Jose.

“We want to make sure that we finish on a good note and get a good seed in the playoffs and hopefully push from there,” said Watters who has led his team to seven wins in their last nine games played.