The Hawks women’s basketball team lost a close game to the West Hills Lemoore Eagles on Nov. 22, 58-53.

The game was slow in its start, with no points made during the first two minutes of the game, despite several attempts by the Hawks.

Then, just over two minutes into the game, Cosumnes River College head coach Coral Sage called a timeout.

“I just needed to get the girls refocused. I felt like we were not really checked-in, and wanted to get them settled down,” Sage said.

“We were missing a lot of layups and just kind of being afraid of attacking the glass. I wanted to get them refocused on what the gameplan actually was.”

After this, both teams began to find success with their shot attempts. The first quarter ended with the Hawks leading 12-7.

The second quarter offered significantly more action than the first, including the Eagles’ forward/center Savannah Pates leaving the game with an injury.

The first half ended 29-23, with the Hawks maintaining the lead.

Sophomore guard Jasmine Chapman, who finished with 11 points and three assists, said that in the future, the team needs to make sure that they get the early lead.

“We have to start the game and the second half strong. You can’t start slow because you’re up by 10,” Chapman said.

“You’ve got to come out and be the first to hit it.”

The Hawks were much more vocal at the start of the second half, calling out to each other across the court.

Sophomore guard Gina Ingravallo, who finished with 10 points and four assists, was happy with the communication between the team members.

“I knew my teammates had my back,” Ingravallo said. “I could always hear them.”

In the third quarter, the Eagles began to play at a faster pace, with the Hawks trying to keep up. The Hawks played well defensively, but the third quarter still ended in a tied game at 39-39.

“Defensively, we did fine. I mean, we kept them to 58 points, which is a pretty solid defensive game,” Sage said. “It’s just offensively, we couldn’t get going.”

The game was high in fouls, with both freshman forward QuoQuese Jackson and sophomore forward Akila Britton fouling out of the game with five personal fouls each.

Two other Hawks players, Daija Ward and Nayani Gordon, ended the game with four personal fouls each.

“The fouls really hurt us tonight,” Sage said.

“So many girls in foul trouble that we didn’t really have a lot of options when it came time for subbing.”

The fourth quarter was extremely close, with the score tied at 50-50 when there were just over four minutes left to play.

In the last four minutes though, the Eagles began to pull away, ending the game 58-53.

Sage said she hopes the team will be able to use this loss as motivation for the future. She also feels good about the team moving forward.

“Never quit. That’s our biggest thing,” Sage said. “Never give up, never quit, whether you’re up 20 or down 20.”

“We’ve just got to deep coming out swinging and do what we do best.”

The Hawks will play against Moorpark at Santa Ana College on Thursday at 2  p.m.

It will kick off a busy month of December, where the team will play in three tournaments.