In the second half of their South Coast Conference game on Friday night, the Cerritos College women's basketball team shot 60% from the field. The accuracy from the field propelled the Falcons (14-10, 7-3) to 40-second half points, as the team posted a 64-34 win over visiting Los Angeles Southwest College. The team will now travel to El Camino College on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. conference game.

In the first half, the Cougars (3-17, 1-9) were able to stay close to Cerritos, with the score only 24-19 at intermission. But the second half started with sophomore forward Alii Salone (Gahr HS) draining the first of two three-pointers that helped the Falcons open up a 32-23 lead with 16:23 remaining. The hot shooting continued with sophomore forward Nia Lateju (Norwalk HS) draining a trey from the baseline, while freshman Cassidy Carrillo (St. Paul HS) and sophomore Priscilla Valdovinos (Fremont HS) each followed with three-pointers for a 43-32 advantage.

In the second half, the Falcons hit 15-of-25 shots (60%) and ended the game netting 45% of their shots to just 30% for LA Southwest. Cerritos also held a 50-30 rebounding advantage.

After scoring 10 first half points, Lateju added five more in the second half to lead the team with 15 points on the night, while Salone finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Playing extended minutes, sophomore guard Dijonnae Murphy (Santa Fe HS) made them count with 10 rebounds, with Carrillo concluding the game with 10 points.

Freshman Michelle Navarro (Warren HS) came off the bench and directed the offense with a team-high five assists and also scored six points, with freshman center Selena Romero (Lakewood HS) adding seven points and eight rebounds.

Photos by Daryl Peterson