Nae Rankins drives to the basket in the second half against De Anza on Friday night.
Freshman Nae Rankins scored 11 points and added 10 rebounds, sparking a huge run that allowed the Falcons to secure a 68-65 win over De Anza College in the first round of the Solano Showdown on Friday.
Solano led 36-26 at the half, but the Dons opened the second half on a huge run and eventually took a 44-43 lead with about 11 minutes to go in the game. Solano rallied back and built another double-digit lead but De Anza wasn’t finished, cutting the lead to two with less than a minute to go. Laura Lawson, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, sank one of two free throws to give Solano a three-point advantage with nine seconds remaining. De Anza’s last-second attempt at a 3-pointer was blocked by Nae Rankins and Solano got the rebound as time expired.
Sophomore point guard Nikki Andaya scored 12 points for Solano (4-3), which advances to Saturday’s semifinals. Alexis Hines came off the bench to score 10 points and added six rebounds. Jenessa Boling was a solid contributor as a backup point guard, dishing out five assists.
Check out more photos from the game!
Next: Solano vs. Chabot at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
