With aspirations of handing the state's top-ranked team their first loss of the season, the Cerritos College women's basketball team came out on the short end of a 64-49 decision Friday night against Mt. San Antonio College. The Falcons (14-9) kept fighting to get close to the Mounties (23-0), but missed scoring chances and turnovers hurt them. The team will now travel to Los Angeles Trade-Tech College on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. game.

Freshman Aissha Baldwin (Mayfair HS) did her best to give Cerritos a chance, as she led the team with 13 points and hauled in a game-high 17 rebounds. The Falcons trailed by as many as 18 points (52-34) in the second half, but go to within 10 points with 4:07 left after a pair of free throws from freshman Ashley Flores (California HS).

But Mountie Joi Mitchell accounted for all eight of her points after the Falcons got within a chance of making the game close. John'ea Thompson scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the first half, as Mt. SAC took a 36-24 lead at intermission. The 20 Falcon turnovers were cashed in for 26 Mty. San Antonio points, while the team shot just 23% from the field.

Off the bench, freshman Sydney Lopez (Whittier Christian HS) scored seven points, while Flores finished with seven rebounds, as the Falcons out-rebounded the Mounties, 42-37.

Photos by Daryl Peterson