Taking on an shorthanded Los Angeles Southwest College squad, the Cerritos College women's basketball team was able to wear them down and post an 83-32 win. The victory was the seventh in a row for the Falcons (19-10, 8-1), who share the lead in the South Coast Conference South Division with El Camino College, and have one regular season game remaining. With a victory over host Los Angeles Harbor College on Friday at 7:00 p.m., it will mark the program's first conference title since the 2009-10 season and their first 20-win campaign since the 2015-16 year.
After surrendering the first points of the game to the Cougars (0-18, 0-8), who had just five players in uniform, the Falcons went on to open a 22-8 lead after the first quarter and held a 39-21 advantage at intermission. Holding LA Southwest to just four points in the third quarter allowed Cerritos to expand their lead to 64-25 with just 10 minutes remaining.
On the night, the Falcons converted 43% of their field goals and scored 41 of their points off 33 Cougars turnovers. Of the 11 players who saw action, 10 of them scored and pulled down at least one rebound. Although they were out-rebounded on the night, 50-38, thanks to LA Southwest's Mercedes Ofoegbu, who had 21 rebounds to go along with her 22 points, the Falcons were also carried by their nine three-pointers.
Sophomore Jesenia Rendon (Carson HS), who ranks eighth in the state with a 20.5 scoring average, led the team with 24 points. She and twin sister, Serena Rendon (Carson HS), who produced 15 points and five steals, led the team with a trio of three-pointers each. They were the only two Falcons to score in double-figures on the night. Freshman Mariah Lora (Warren HS) scored all eight of her points in the fourth quarter, while freshman Sarah Hernandez (St. Paul HS) also added eight points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench. Sophomore Jessica Gomez (Legacy HS) accounted for seven points, while freshman Jade Johnson (City of Angels HS) pulled down seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.