After extending Mt. San Antonio College to overtime just 12 days earlier, the Cerritos College women's basketball team once again came up short in their second meeting of the season. Hosting the Mounties (15-4) in a South Coast Conference crossover game on Wednesday night, the Falcons (12-9) were defeated 65-59, which is their second loss in a row. It was also their 15th loss in a row to Mt. SAC, which dates back to the 2010-11 season. They will look to end their current skid when they take on Los Angeles Southwest College at 5:00 p.m. on Friday in a game that will take place at El Camino College.

It was a game where leads went back and forth, with the Mounties taking a 29-20 lead in the second quarter. The Falcons came back with the final eight points of the half, as freshman Serena Rendon (Carson HS) hit a pair of shots and freshman Angie Ferreira (Long Beach Millikan HS) converted four free throws. Serena Rendon, who led the Falcons with 23 points, dropped a three-pointer with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter to put Cerritos in front, 33-32. However, Mt. SAC turned to Deja Siaki for three points at a time, and she responded with six three-pointers on the night, including four of them in the second half.

Cerritos was able to get to within two points on several occasions late in the third quarter, as well as in the fourth quarter. But each time they looked to tie the game, or even take the lead, the Mounties had an answer. It was a 45-43 game before Dominique McLaughin hit a shot, while Tianna Burrell hit a jumper, followed by a three-pointer from Siaki to make it a 53-46 Mt. SAC lead with 5:36 remaining in the game.

Down by nine points (60-51) with 3:05 remaining, Serena Rendon hit a three-pointer coming out of a timeout, and then added another trey with :21 seconds left for a 61-57 score. But McLaughlin (18 points, 10 rebounds) stepped up an converted four free throws the rest of the way to secure the outcome.

In addition to her 23 points, Serena Rendon pulled down eight rebounds, with Ferreira finishing with 14 points and four boards. Freshman Jesenia Rendon (Carson HS) accounted for nine points, four assists and four steals, with freshman Gillian Yamasaki (South Torrance HS) posting seven points on the night.

Photos by Daryl Peterson