For the second time this season, the Cerritos College women's basketball team lost a one-point decision to Los Angeles Harbor College. In their South Coast Conference South Division game on Friday, the Falcons worked hard to take their first lead of the game at 34-32 when freshman Jordan Lewis (Downey HS) connected on a baseline jumper with 3:57 remaining. The lead would become 36-32 after sophomore Sarah Hernandez (St. Paul HS) scored with 1:36 left on the clock.

The Seahawks (12-12, 3-3) missed on a three-pointer on their next possession, but after the Falcons (9-15, 2-4) recorded the rebound, they turned the ball over. LA Harbor's Brion Trurner was fouled and converted a three-point play with :48 seconds left for a 36-35 Cerritos lead. Coming out of a timeout, freshman Melanie Lopez (Legacy HS) missed a three-pointer, while the team retained the ball with :25 seconds after it went out of bounds. Another missed three-pointer, this time from freshman Nicole Lizarraga (Cantwell Sacred Heart HS), and the Seahawks pulled down the rebound and called time out.

On the inbound play, Turner received the ball and scored on a short turnaround jumper from two feet out for a Seahawks lead. With just enough time left on the clock to win the game, Hernandez had her three-point attempt blocked by Turner, while her subsequent attempt after grabbing the loose ball missed the basket and the clock expired.

Limited the single-digit scoring in the first three quarters, Cerritos made their comeback in the fourth quarter, with just three players accounting for all of the team's points. Freshman Precious Yerena (Downey HS), who was kept off the board in the fourth quarter, led the team with 10 points and added four rebounds, while Hernandez scored five of her nine points in the final quarter. Lizarraga finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while Lewis pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

As a team, the Falcons only went to the free throw line twice on the night, while LA Harbor converted 6-of-11 from the charity stripe.

The team will travel to Long Beach City College on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. divisional game against their crosstown rival.

Photos by Daryl Peterson