Still within striking distance after the first half, the Cerritos College women's basketball team saw the game get away from them in the second half in a 79-43 non-conference loss to West Los Angeles College on Tuesday. Trailing, 34-20 at intermission, the Falcons saw the host Cougars take advantage of their shooting woes and outscored them, 22-9 to open a comfortable lead. Cerritos will look to turn things around when they take part in the Toys for Tots Tournament at Allan Hancock College starting on November 30.

Early in the first half, freshman Rayne Rodriguez (La Serna HS) hit a three-pointer to give Cerritos a 10-7 lead, while several lapses in scoring allowed West LA to start pulling away. Down, 16-15 with 2:21 remaining in the first quarter, the Falcons didn't add to their point total for another 7:31, as the Cougars opened up a 26-16 advantage.

On the day, the Falcons shot only 19.7% from the field, with Rodriguez leading the team with 14 points, while she added five rebounds. Sophomore Melana Goodloe (Warren HS) had another superb defensive game, as she pulled down 15 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and added six points. The bench received 11 points from freshman Brianna Charles (El Rancho HS), who netted 3-of-6 three-pointers. Sophomore Damarie Saldivar (Paramount HS) contributed six points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals in another strong all-around game.