The women’s basketball team (19-9 overall and 9-1 in the Bay Valley Conference) put up a valiant effort against Solano Community College but came up short in their first BVC loss of the season 79-71 Friday in the Gymnasium.

After winning its previous 9 games the Comet players were surprisingly upbeat following the loss to Solano.

“Nothing was heartbreaking about this loss, if my wife dies that’s heartbreaking but this is one game, (that’s) basketball,” women’s basketball coach Paul DeBolt said.

In the first quarter the Falcons (13-13 overall and 8-2 in the BVC) were the first to strike with a 3-pointer which would end up being a common theme for the team. For the majority of the quarter both teams played high paced, end to end basketball punctuated by constant turnovers. Despite the reckless play, the Comets came out on top at the end of the quarter 16-13.

The second quarter started with the possession arrow in favor of the Falcons but Solano was unable to capitalize due to the Comets zone defense.

The swarming defense forced two turnovers that lead to a foul sending Tynisha Adams to the line.

The second year guard finished with 24 points while shooting 8-10 from the free throw line.

A steal from Comet forward Julian Robinson for a layup followed by a shot from guard Daizah Pounds, sparked a run that continued to light up the scoreboard for CCC in the second quarter.

Solano matched the Comet intensity, scoring 5-8 of their shot from downtown.

The Comets went on a seven-point run but that was not enough to hold the lead, the squad trailed 32-34 at the break.

“The atmosphere was intense we just have to pick up our defense and pick up where we left off offensively.” Adams said.

Turnovers littered the third quarter for both teams, with the Comets being the first to put points on the board.

By the end of the third quarter the Falcons lead had evaporated to just three points. Solano had the advantage of having most of the fourth quarter calls go in its favor and cashed in at the line going 9-for-12 in the quarter.

“It was basically like eight people on the team, it was five people we were playing defense against and the refs.” Adams said.

In the final quarter, the Comets lost stamina and its lead in the opening minutes while the Falcons continued scoring behind the three point line.

The lead grew as large as seven points with the Falcons having all the momentum knocking down long distance shots. That was until forward Moody got fouled in the closing minutes of the quarter helping the Comets narrow the margin by two but not enough to steal the victory.

“I’m not worried about losing one game,”  Moody said. “ I’m worried about the conference championship.”