The Cerritos College basketball team failed to pick up the victory against Riverside Community College, 68 to 66, ending there run to the state championship in the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs.
“Well, we were the higher seed in this game, so the loss hurts a lot. The girls tried very hard, and I’m very proud of them. We had a chance at the end; we made a comeback, that shows the teams toughness, but it just wasn’t our night” head coach of the Cerritos College women’s basketball team Karen Welliver said.
The second-seeded Cerritos (23-6) started the game smoothly and quickly, getting the early lead over the Tigers, even having a 29 – 18 lead.
During the last two minutes of the first half, Tigers’ Monica Sinclair picked up the pace for her team by scoring 10 points, helping her team tie the game at 33 at the half.
“[The half] was a team effort, and the team stepped up .Each game, there’s a player who steps up, and the player who really stepped up this game was Monica Sinclar. She, on average, got two minutes of playing time, and she rarely played in high school, but she’s up and coming, and she helped us out a lot this game,” head coach of Riverside, Alicia Berber said.
At the second half, Riverside kept up its pace, forcing the Falcons to struggle with the ball.
Both teams were playing rough, fouling each other the whole game, but Cerritos was falling behind in the score.
With a minute and a half left in the game, Riverside had a secure lead with the score 65-58. That made Cerritos pick up the defense.
Falcons started to bring the pressure to Riverside, even with the offense Guard April Perry made a three-pointer near the one minute mark,helping Cerritos close the gap to 67-63.
With both teams putting intense defense on each other, the Falcon were only able to score three more points in the remainder of the game, making the final score 68-66, leaving Riverside to advance to the next round of playoffs.
“In the second half, we went right into the game. We had more shots, but we were lacking the free throws,” Welliver said.
With the win being so close, Riversides team manager was happy for the ladies and feels they deserve the win.
“The win feels real good for the women. I was real nervous, but hey, the women pulled it out. They played with real knowledge and I’m really happy for them”, Wendel Wells, Riverside team manager said.
Berber had nothing but positive things to say about the Falcons and the coaching during the season and game.
“I have nothing but respect for Welliver and her team. Welliver is a great coach; one of the most winningest coaches in junior college history, and I always enjoy coaching against her. It’s never an easy time to coach against the team, and I have nothing but respect for her coaching and the program,” Berber said.
The night ended with the Falcons leading scores, guard April Perry, racking up 16 points, with forward Andrina Redon following right behind with 15 points.
“This season was very great. We had a lot of highlights. We won the Sequoia Tournament; we had an excellent record, so we had a lot of highlights this year,” Welliver said.
Riverside will go on to the third round of playoffs on Wednesday to face the winner of the Orange Coast College vs. Southwestern game.
