The Cerritos women’s basketball team defeated a short-handed LA Harbor team 58-47 on Feb. 2.
The game started off slow for both teams with the scoreboard stuck at a 2-7 score for three minutes straight until the Seahawks would finally score making it a three-point game.
After going scoreless for almost five straight minutes the Falcons would finally put more points on the board and caught fire to end the first quarter going on a 9-0 run to finish the first with the score at 15-6.
The Falcons kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter, shooting at 50% from the field which was a major improvement from the first where they shot at 40%.
It’s not a surprise that LA Harbor struggled majorly in this game as they only had a six women rotation in this game.
This short-handed rotation forced the Seahawks to rely heavily on their two best players Akilah Watson and Samantha Ballantyne.
Both players shot the ball a total of 49 times which was 74% of the team’s shot attempts and they scored 36 of the 47 total points for the Seahawks.
“I thought we locked up defensively when we needed to, 2 (Akilah Waston) is a very good player I’ve been watching her for a long time, and 5 (Samantha Ballantyne) obviously,” said Falcons head coach Trisha Kozlowski
Although the Falcons had the lead all throughout the second half, there was a point where the Seahawks brought the lead down to six points.
But with the short-handed rotation, it would be too much for the Seahawks to overcome as the Falcons kept pouring it on and not allowing LA Harbor to sniff a lead going forward.
The Falcons struggled offensively shooting at 44% but made it up on the defensive side of the ball.
“Offensively, I try to do quarter by quarter so if I mess up once you know I try not to let it get the best of me, and if I can’t do something about it I’ll try to get a good look for my teammate”, said Damarie Saldivar who scored 19 points and led the team in scoring.
It was a good win for the Falcons but wasn’t perfect but from the words of Coach Kozlowski, a win is a win.
“Work, you work if you want something you have to go get it, ain’t nobody gonna give you anything, in basketball, in life, if you want to be conference champs we gotta go out work our tails off, and focus in on film, learn from these last two games and focus on a game plan and execute on a game plan,” said Kozlowski.
With the final stretch of the season coming the Falcons are currently in first place in their division but it won’t be an easy task to finish.
The lady Falcons’ next game will be on the road to take on Long Beach City College on Feb. 7.
