Competing in their first tournament of the season, the Cerritos College women's basketball team picked up wins at the Riverside City Tournament over Solano College (54-47) and against the host Tigers (68-61) to advance to the championship game. The Falcons then suffered a 65-51 loss at the hands of San Jose City College in the finals on Saturday. The Falcons will now host Grossmont College at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday in their first of three straight home games.

 

Cerritos vs. Solano: After opening the first quarter by taking a 12-2 lead, the Falcons were able to hold off Solano for a 54-47 win in the first round of the tournament. Freshman Bridgette McIntyre (St. Anthony HS), who led the team with 24 points, scored nine of those in the first quarter. It was a 20-5 lead in the second quarter after a pair of baskets from sophomore Ashley Miller (Paramount HS). A three-pointer from McIntyre increased the team to 23-6, but the Falcons of Solano outscored the Falcons of Cerritos, 8-4 the rest of the half, with Cerritos taking a 27-14 advantage into halftime. McIntyre ended a 5-0 Solano run to start the third quarter with a three-pointer, while another 5-0 run was halted when McIntyre scored from short range. The lead was trimmed to 38-31 heading into the fourth quarter, with McIntyre and sophomore Brianna Flores (Norwalk HS) each scoring to improve that lead to 42-31. Solano got as close as 45-43 with 4:25 remaining, until McIntyre drained her third three-pointer of the game with 2:37 left to give Cerritos a 50-45 lead, which would be enough to post the win. Along with her 24 points, McIntyre also added seven rebounds and five assists, while Flores (11 points) and Miller (10 points, eight rebounds) also scored in double-figures. Freshmen Akayla Burton (El Segundo HS) and Damarie Saldivar (Paramount HS) combined for 14 points in the win.

 

Cerritos vs. Riverside City: Taking on the host Tigers, the Falcons led all but once (25-23) until 2:42 was left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Leading by as many as 10 points (41-31) in the third quarter, Cerritos saw Riverside take a late lead at 56-55. Freshman Miah Nayback (La Serna HS) came down and drained a three-pointer followed by a fast break layup and converted three-point play from McIntyre to put Cerritos in front, 60-56 with 1:26 remaining. The Tigers converted 3-of-6 free throws on their next three possessions, while Flores was able to net one of her own with :49 seconds left for a 62-59 advantage. On her second attempt, the ball was knocked out of bounds by Riverside City, and on the inbound pass, Flores scored on a layup to give the Falcons a 64-59 lead. Cerritos netted 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch, while the Tigers missed three of their final four shots. McIntyre recorded her second straight 24-point game, which included four three-pointers, with Flores adding 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Burton recorded nine points and led the team with eight rebounds, with Nayback producing nine points, four rebounds and four steals.

Cerritos vs. San Jose City: Facing the Jaguars (5-0) for the first time since the 2011-12 season, the Falcons trailed by 15 points (35-20) at halftime. Cerritos led, 17-16 after a Flores basket in the second quarter, but went 6:34 before scoring again and saw San Jose City go on a 15-0 run. They fell behind by as many as 20 points in the second half and could only get as close as 57-45 with 5:20 remaining after a basket by Saldivar. McIntyre, who led the team with 18 points, was named to the All-Tournament team, while Flores also earned All-Tournament recognition after posting 11 points and eight rebounds. In the loss to the Jaguars, Saldivar had 11 points and four steals, while Miller recording seven rebounds off the bench.