The Cerritos College women's basketball team scored 46 second half points, which pushed them past a stubborn ECC Compton Center on Friday night at The Aviary. The Falcons (13-9, 6-2), who struggled offensively at the start of the game, found their shooting touch in the second half and went on to a 66-45 South Coast Conference win over the Lady Tartars (2-18, 0-8). Cerritos will now travel to Mt. San Antonio College on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. game, and will see 32-year head coach Karen Welliver coaching her 1000th game for the Falcons.

Compton led by as many as 12 points (20-8) with 6:44 left in the first half. But the Falcons turned up the pressure on defense and quickly closed the gap to five points (25-20) by halftime and didn't let the Tartars score in the final 2:43.

After being held to a combined five points through the first half, the tandem of sophomore forward Nia Lateju (Norwalk HS) and freshman center Selena Romero (Lakewood HS) helped propel the team back into the game and once they took the lead at 37-36 with 11:17 left, never looked back. The two combined for 25 of the team's 46 points in the final 20 minutes and each concluded with 15 points. Romero led the team with 11 rebounds.

Freshman Cassidy Carrillo (St. Paul HS) drained a pair of three-pointers in the first half, and her eight points helped keep the team close. She finished with 12 points, while sophomore forward Alii Salone (Gahr HS) added 10 points in the win. Sophomore guard Priscilla Valdovinos (Fremont HS) pulled down six rebounds from her 5-1 point guard position, while also dishing out 16 points. Compton was led led by Jessica Phillips, who had 11 points and 16 rebounds.

Photos by Daryl Peterson