With a chance to pull into a first place tie in the South Coast Conference South Division, the Cerritos College women's basketball team came up short in a 68-47 decision against visiting El Camino College on Friday. The Falcons (15-12, 3-2), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end, will travel to Los Angeles Southwest College next Friday for a 5:00 p.m. divisional game.

Trailing 12-6 late in the first quarter, freshman Jesenia Rendon (Carson HS) dropped a three-pointer right before the buzzer to pull the team to within three points. They fought back from an 18-12 deficit in the second quarter by going on a 9-2 run, with sophomore Alexis Clark (Mayfair HS) putting the Falcons in front, 21-20 with 4:55 left in the first half. A short jumper by freshman Jessica Gomez (Legacy HS) with 4:19 left would give Cerritos their last lead of the game at 23-21, as the Warriors would outscore the Falcons, 7-2 to close out the half and then started pulling away in the second half.

It was the play of Kayla Bibb that did in the Falcons as she scored 28 points on the night and accounted for three of the Warriors 13 offensive rebounds. Cerritos, who shot 31% from the field and committed 15 turnovers, received 14 first half points from Jesenia Rendon, but was limited to just four free throws in the second half.

Gomez contributed nine points off the bench, while freshman Serena Rendon (Carson HS) was held to only eight points on 4-of-11 shooting, with sophomore Alexis Clark (Mayfair HS) producing seven points and seven rebounds in the cause.

At halftime of the game, former head coach Karen Welliver was joined at midcourt by a number of her former players and assistant coaches. Welliver, who won 684 games in her Falcon career, thanked her players and coaches, as she's being inducted into the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame this year.

Photos by Daryl Peterson