Rams basketball is no joke, and the women’s team proved that with their gritty victory over Delta in round two of the California Community College Athletic Association state championship tournament.

Even though the Rams won the game by a score of 68-56, during the course of the game, there were many times where the score was very close, including Delta taking the lead in both the first and second quarters.

The Rams were able to establish a quick and up tempo game early on, forcing turnovers on defense which lead to many fast break opportunities creating easier chances to score.

Still, head coach Brian Tessler said that the pace wasn’t what his team normally plays because of the opposition. “It was not as fast as we normally play, but we felt against this team we couldn’t get into a complete running game because they are so good at it,” Tessler said. “I really like the pace of the game, in fact that is what we wanted.”

As the game progressed, Fresno’s lead fluctuated up and down. Once the Rams started to build the lead up again, the pace of the game slowed, and the team was able to settle down and play their style, per the team’s gameplan.

“I think we were playing a little frantic in the beginning, you know cause it is a playoff game, second round. But after we went, we got our composure and started playing our game.” said forward Niyesha Brown.

The game was filled with many physical plays including hard fouls that resulted in players hitting the floor. This didn’t seem to affect Fresno negatively at all and sophomore guard Heaven Lee believes that the way the team practices helped them overcome.

“Coach prepares us for really anything, It just makes us better; it’s only going to get tougher.” said Lee.

Lee scored 10 points and lead the team in rebounds with 11. Sophomore guard Jasmine Black lead the Rams with 16 points and also added three steals to have an outstanding game.

Fresno will play Sierra College in the regional semifinals on March 5 to determine who will play in the championship round.