It seemed the Cerritos College women's basketball team started to find their outside range the longer the game lasted. The Falcons drained five three-pointers in the second held, which helped them pull away from visiting El Camino College (11-12, 2-2), 72-53 in a South Coast Conference South Division game at The Aviary on Friday night. The win keeps Cerritos (17-8, 3-0) in a tie for first place with Long Beach City College, as the two square off in Long Beach on Wednesday.

One of the key outside shooters for the Falcons was sophomore Clarissa Hernandez (St. Paul HS), who scored eight points in each half, which included four three-pointers on the night. After El Camino had closed the gap to six points, Hernandez hit a spot-up three-pointer from the top of the key for a 56-45 lead with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter. 

That seemed to take the steam out of El Camino, who went 1-for-7 from the field with four turnovers the remainder of the game. By contrast, the Falcons continued to run their fast break to perfection and scored 26 points off turnovers. Sophomore Ashley Flores (California HS) scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, and connected on 8-of-11 shots.

In addition to her 16 points, Hernandez dished out seven assists, while contributed to the Falcons having four players score in double-figures. Freshman Allyson O'Brien (La Habra HS) led the team with 18 points and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals, with Flores pulling down five rebounds to go with her 16 points. Sophomore Miranda Valentin (Bellflower HS) added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Photos by Daryl Peterson