The Cerritos College women's basketball team posted a 66-30 South Coast Conference win over ECC Compton Center on Friday at The Aviary to stay within striking distance of the playoffs. The Falcons, who improved to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in conference play, have five regular season games remaining and are fighting for a post-season bid. They will host El Camino College on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., which will also serve as a homecoming for all former Falcon players.

It was slow going for Cerritos in the first few minutes of the game, as turnovers and missed shots plagued the team. But a pair of three-pointers off the bench from freshman Jacalyn Saiza (Santa Fe HS) sparked the team. After freshman Tache' King (Gahr HS) netted a shot from three-point range, the Falcons opened up a 14-3 lead with 11:38 left in the first half and never looked back.

The minutes were distributed evenly among the starters and reserves, with Saiza scoring nine points in 11 minutes, while freshman Nia Lateju (Norwalk HS) led the team with 12 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Marissa Rendon (St. Paul HS) was limited to 21 minutes, but did account for eight points, eight rebounds and four assists, while sophomore Angela Pena (Huntington Park College Ready Academy HS) finished with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The lead swelled to 31 points (54-23) with 8:08 remaining in a basket by freshman Priscilla Valdovinos (Fremont HS) and the large lead didn't affect the team's 19 turnovers and 4-of-15 free throw shooting. Shamica Cheatham led ECC Compton Center with 15 points on the night.

Photo by Daryl Peterson