In the first half of their South Coast Conference game against rival Long Beach City College, the Cerritos College women's basketball team trailed by 11 points. But in the second half, they were able to experience success in the paint and received 12 points from freshman Aissha Baldwin (Mayfair HS), as the Falcons came away with a 52-51 win. Cerritos (14-7, 3-1) didn't take their first lead in the game until a 48-47 lead with 4:31 remaining on an offensive rebound and put-back by Baldwin.

The Vikings (11-7, 1-2) used their inside size to block eight shots and forced numerous misdirected shots. But Baldwin finally scored her first basket with 13:15 left in the game and accounted for eight of the team's final 12 points. LBCC had several chances at the end to win the gane, but consecutive shots by Janissa Zagal were off line and the Falcons came away with the big win.

The game started with Long Beach scoring the first seven points until the Falcons were able to tie the game at 18-18 with 7:09 left in the first half. However, only two points the rest of the stanza caused the team to trail by double-digits at intermission. LB City shot 48% in the first half, but struggled in the second half and connected just 19.2% of their field goals. It was the opposite for Cerritos, who drained 43.3% of their shots in the second half and evened the points in the paint at 22, thanks primarily to Baldwin.

On the night, Baldwin had 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while sophomore Cassidy Carrillo (St. Paul HS) finished with 11 points. As for sophomore Selena Romero (Lakewood HS), she had eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, with freshman Verenice Gomez (Whittier HS) adding eight points. Armani Wiley (12 points, six rebounds, six assists), Jessica Njoku (10 points) and Darshana Taafua (10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) paced the Vikings.

Photos by Daryl Peterson