W. Basketball: Team opens season with split

Men's track & field team won a pair of events at the Cerritos Invitational
Men's track & field team won a pair of events at the Cerritos Invitational

Taking part in the Grossmont Tournament for their first action of the 2021-22 season, the Cerritos College women's basketball team split their two games. The Falcons (1-1) battled back to defeat the host Griffins, 64-52 on Friday before dropping a 60-48 decision against South Coast Conference opponent East Los Angeles College on Saturday. Next up will be the Riverside "Earn Our Stripes" Tournament on Thursday with the Falcons taking on the host Tigers. Helping the team come back against Grossmont was freshman Ilani Avila (Downey HS), who scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half. The daughter of former Cerritos basketball players Julio Avila and Liz (Espinoza) Avila, the guard was 7-of-11 from the free throw line also added four steals, three rebounds and three assists in the win. Sophomore Precious Yerena (Downey HS) accounted for 11 points, seven steals and five rebounds for the Falcons, while sophomore Therese Zekajj (Legacy HS) pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go with her six points. The bench contributed 17 rebounds, with freshman Cynthia Estrada (John Glenn HS) pulling down five.

The second game gave the Falcons an early look at a conference opponent, where they fell short. Just as in the first game, Avila led the team, as she produced 22 points in a losing cause.