Competing in the three-day Allan Hancock Tournament, the Cerritos College women's basketball team was unable to pick up a win in their three meetings. In their first game, they were defeated, 80-33 by Folsom Lake College, while that was followed by a 62-42 setback against Fresno City College. In their final game, the Falcons (2-8) dropped a 48-44 decision against the host Bulldogs (1-10). Cerritos returns home next Friday for a 5:00 p.m. Game against Fullerton College.

 

Cerritos vs. Folsom Lake: It was a rough game from start to finish for the Falcons, who trailed, 12-0 to start the game. They could never string together much in the way of offense, while their 29 turnovers were converted into 31 points for Folsom Lake (8-0). Sophomore Lauryn Nakamura (Cypress HS) accounted for 21 of the team's points, which included converting all seven of the team's points from the free throw line. Freshman Emily Gonzalez (La Mirada HS) added six points and a season-high 16 rebounds, with freshman Justine Lucero (South El Monte HS) scoring the other six points for Cerritos. Freshman Maya Aceves (Garfield HS) produced nine rebounds.

Cerritos vs. Fresno City: With just five players available against the Rams (8-3), the Falcons scored the first basket of the game, but went on to go for long blocks of time without adding to their total. Lucero led the team with 17 points and added five rebounds, while Nakamura finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals. As a team, the Falcons were 17-of-28 from the free throw line, but were once again victimized by their 32 turnovers. Gonzalez had 11 rebounds to go with her six points, while freshman Destiny Elmore (La Mirada HS) pulled down nine rebounds.

 

Cerritos vs. Allan Hancock: Trailing through most of the first half, the Falcons took the lead at 19-18 when Nakamura converted one of two free throws with 7:05 left on the clock. Elmore followed with a three-pointer, while Nakamura hit a short jumper to open a 24-18 advantage. After the Bulldogs tied the game at 24-24, the Falcons converted 4-of-6 free throws to go up by four points, with Nakamura capping off the first half with a bucket to take a 33-28 lead into intermission. With Cerritos leading 34-31 in the third quarter, neither team would score for nearly seven minutes until Nakamura knocked down a jump shot for a 36-31 Falcons lead. The third quarter ended with Cerritos clinging to a 36-34 lead, as both teams combined to score just nine points in the stanza. 

The Bulldogs took the lead at 37-36 after opening the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, with Nakamura and Gonzalez responding with baskets for a 40-38 lead with 6:49 left. The game was tied once again at 42-42 with 1:04 left after Nakamura converted a pair of free throws. Hancock took a 44-42 lead with 34 seconds left and then took possession of the ball again after a Falcons turnover. The Bulldogs knocked down both free throws with 15 seconds left, while Lucero drew the team to within two points after scoring with 10 seconds remaining. Another Falcons foul sent Allan Hancock back to the free throw line, and after Bree Luna missed both attempts, Sopohinnie Felix grabbed the offense rebound and sealed the win for Hancock with a layup.

Nakamura led all scorers with 24 points, which included going 8-of-13 from the free throw line and also added eight rebounds. Cerritos finished the game with just four players after Lucero (eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists)  fouled out. Gonzalez capped off the weekend with her third double-digit rebounding performance with 13.