Playing at the Allan Hancock Tournament over the weekend, the Cerritos College women's basketball team suffered three defeats. They opened with an 83-56 loss to Fresno City College before suffering a 74-64 overtime loss to the host Bulldogs. In their final game on Saturday, the Falcons (4-6) were defeated by Folsom Lake College, 62-36 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Cerritos will look to regroup and will host Chaffey College at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Cerritos vs. Fresno City: In their first game of the tournament, the Falcons fell behind the Rams (5-2) early on and spent the remainder of the game trying to get back into the game. After opening an early 4-3 lead, Cerritos saw Fresno City go on an 11-0 run, as their opponent connected on 4-of-6 from three-point range and opened a 22-9 advantage by the end of the first quarter. A three-pointer from freshman Bridgette McIntyre (St. Anthony HS) brought Cerritos to within 24-14, but Fresno City countered with a pair of three-pointers. Freshman Akayla Burton (El Segundo HS) provided the team's next six points to once again pull to within 10 (32-22) and when sophomore Ashley Miller (Paramount HS) converted one of two free throws, it was a nine-point game at 32-23. The Falcons made it a six-point game (35-29) when sophomore Brianna Flores (Norwalk HS) scored four straight points. Coming out of halftime, McIntyre opened the third quarter with five straight points, followed by a bucket from Flores and Cerritos closed the gap to three points (39-36). The Rams ended the third quarter by scoring seven straight points and led, 60-46 with just the fourth quarter remaining. A difficult shooting fourth quarter (4-for-18) enabled Fresno City to pull away for the 27-point win. Burton led the team with 17 points (8-of-9 FG) and seven rebounds, while Flores finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. McIntyre posted 10 points, with Miller turning in four points, four rebounds and three assists.

 

Cerritos vs. Allan Hancock: Finding themselves behind, 41-25 with 5:17 left in the third quarter, the Falcons 16-4 run the remainder of the quarter to make it a 45-41 game heading into the fourth quarter. During that run, freshman Damarie Saldivar (Paramount HS), Flores and McIntyre each connected on three-pointers. Miller completed the comeback on a layup with 6:34 left in regulation to tie the game at 47-47 before McIntyre put the team in front for the first time since with first quarter at 51-50. McIntyre made it 55-52 with 3:23 left and when Flores hit a three-pointer, it was a 58-53 advantage for Cerritos with 2:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, Allan Hancock's Giselle Calderon hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left to send the game into overtime with a 60-60 score. In that extra period, Cerritos was just 1-for-8 from the field and were forced to foul after falling behind. The Bulldogs converted 9-of-12 free throws to come away with the win. McIntyre led all scorers with 21 points, while Flores finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Saldivar added 10 points and four assists off the bench, with freshman Siara Avila (Downey HS) pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.

 

Cerritos vs. Folsom Lake: Taking on the Falcons of Folsom Lake for the first time in the program's history, Cerritos was victimized by a second quarter where they were outscored, 21-2 and were just 1-of-11 from the field with six turnovers. The offensive output improved a little in the third quarter, but Folsom Lake connected on 11-of-16 shots in the 10-minute period and continued to extend their lead. By the final whistle, the Falcons were only 15-of-56 from the field and turned the ball over 24 times in the loss. McIntyre had eight points, while Burton and Miller each scored six points. Sophomore Cynthia Almanzar (John Glenn HS) came off the bench to provide five points and five rebounds