Although they have
struggled at times to play a complete game, the
Cerritos College women's basketball team strung
together three outstanding performances in as many
days to capture the championship of the Orange Coast
Tournament. The Falcons (9-7) opened with a
convincing 76-31 win over Cuesta College before
defeating the host Pirates for the second time in
eight days, this time by a 52-45 margin. In the
championship game, Cerritos defeated Chaffey
College, 68-61, as freshman guard
Maleta
Daughtery (Redondo HS) capped
off a great three games with 17 points and eight
rebounds to be named the Most Valuable Player.
The Falcons will
look to continue their strong play, as they enter
the Fullerton Tournament on Friday and open up at
noon against the host Hornets.
Leading most of
the way against the Panthers in the finals, Cerritos
took the lead for good on a jump shot by freshman
guard
Raven Tripp
(John Glenn HS) with 10:25 remaining in the
first half for a 17-16 lead. The Falcons would not
trail the rest of the game and led by as many as 14
points (57-43) after freshman forward
Vannesa
Faagata (Paramount HS) hit a
jumper with 6:53 remaining.
Chaffey made a run
late in the game, outscoring Cerritos, 16-6 over the
next 5:38 and cut the Falcon lead to 63-59 after
former Falcon Arielle McClellan scored. After
sophomore guard
Cecily
Garcia (St. Joseph HS)
converted one of two free throws for a five-point
lead, Audrina Anderson hit a shot for the Panthers,
who were within 64-61 with less than a minute left.
But sophomores
Rachel
Butler (Downey Calvary Chapel HS)
and
Mercedes
Taylor (Gahr HS) each made a
free throw and Faagata closed out the scoring with a
bucket at the end of the game.
Daughtery led all
scorers with 17 points and added eight rebounds,
five assists and three steals, while Faagata (16
points, eight rebounds) and Butler (13 points, four
rebounds) also scored in double-figures. Both were
also named to the all-tournament team with Daughtery.
Tripp played well off the bench, contributing eight
points and six rebounds, while Taylor finished with
nine points and seven rebounds.
In the semi-final
win over Orange Coast, Daughtery led all scorers
with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, which also
included four three-pointers. The Pirates had a
great deal of difficulty from the field, converting
just 24% of their shots, while the Falcons made 40%
and were out-rebounded, 46-39.
Leading by a scant
26-22 at intermission, Cerritos came out hot in the
second half opened with a 13-4 advantage and led
by double-digits for the majority of the remainder
of the game. Daughtery drained a pair of
three-pointers during that stretch and scored eight
of the team's points.
Faagata added
eight points, four rebounds and three blocked shots
in the win, while Taylor fought off a cold-shooting
night (3-for-13) and led the team with nine rebounds
to go with her seven points. Butler finished with
six rebounds, five points, five assists and two
steals, while Tripp came off the bench to add four
points and three assists before fouling out.
The rout in the
opener allowed the bench to be emptied, but not
before Daughtery drained 10-of-14 shots, with six of
them being from three-point range, to lead the way
with 26 points. Faagata netted 7-of-12 shots to
finish with 14 points and six rebounds, while Tripp
added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists
off the bench. Scoring eight points with five
rebounds and three assists was Garcia, while Butler
pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go with her
eight assists, six steals and five points.
|
