PASSING THE TEST IN ROUND ONE

The No. 14 seeded Hornets past their first test at home Friday night taking Round 1 of the SoCal Regionals against No. 19 Citrus College 80-47.

It's been ten years since Fullerton has been in the playoffs and 14 years to the day since the team won a playoff game. In just his third season at the helm, head coach Dan Desmond has gotten the Hornets back into contention winning his first post-season game. The last coach to win a playoff game was Hall of Famer Debi Woelke- a 69-60 win over Chaffey on February 26, 2011.

Both the Owls and Hornets came into the game with equal records at 18-10, but it was the Owls who came out flying with a 13-6 lead in the opening minutes, but by the end of the first quarter, Fullerton gained back some ground at 17-16 thanks to a jumper by Brittlay Carillo. Xochitl Hood hit a two-pointer to take an 18-17 advantage to welcome the second quarter, as the Owls and Hornets fought it out. Jimena Solorio knocked down a three-point shot for a 30-27 lead to kick off a 10-0 run to end the half.

Up 37-27 at the start of the third quarter, Xochitl Hood welcomed the second half with a jumper to start yet another run as the Hornets went off taking a 25-point lead (56-31) at the 3-minute mark. Haley Lakey put a button on the third with a jumper for a 60-34 advantage putting Fullerton in total control of the game heading into the fourth. Up by 38 points with 3 minutes left in regulation, the Hornets could not contain their excitement as the team kicked the door open to the second round of the 3C2A SoCal Regionals.

Kaylee Shimoda had a great night hitting 6 three-pointers while scoring a game-high 24 points. Shimoda now has the school record for most career three-pointers with 135 breaking FC Hall of Fame player Angie Baca's (1996-98) record of 134. Xochitl Hood followed up with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. 12 points by Jimena Solorio and 10 points with 5 assists by Erin Choi helped FC lock down the win.

UP Next: The No. 14 Hornets (19-10 overall) will hit the road this Saturday March 1st when they play No. 3 Moorpark in Round 2 of the SoCal Regionals. Tipoff is at 6:00 pm.

Can't make the game in person? Watch it live and free here.

The SoCal Regional Bracket