Miranda Martinez had 17 pts and 13 rebs and #3 Long Beach pulled away late with a 12-0 run in the final 2:38 in a 56-46 win over #10 Cerritos to pull into first place in the SCC-South.
Long Beach (21-4, 5-0) led most of the way, taking a 6-0 lead to start the game and leading by as many as 8 points at 20-12 early in the second quarter. Cerritos (18-9, 4-1) pulled within a point to trail, 22-21, late in the second quarter before a steal & lay-up by Paris Lucci gave Long Beach a 24-21 lead at the half.
Cerritos used a 10-1 run to take a 33-30 lead midway through the third quarter, but the lead lasted just over two minutes until Long Beach tied the score at 33 and went back in the lead on a free throw by Kayla Sii to lead, 34-33, with 2:52 left in the third quarter. The quarter ended with Long Beach holding a slim 38-35 advantage.
The game remained close well into the fourth quarter. Cerritos tied the score at 44 when Crystal Lomax split two free throws with 3:25 left to play.
But then Long Beach went on a stunning 12-0 run to take control of the game and get the win. It all started with a blocked shot by Lupe Cruz, which led to a pair of free throws by Sopavy Seng with 2:38 left that gave Long Beach a 46-44 lead. Then a steal by Seng led to a basket by Lucci with 2:13 left. Then Taylor Smith made 5 free throws, Seng made 2 and Cruz made 1, all in the last 1:14, to complete the run and clinch the win for Long Beach.
Martinez led all scorers with her 17 pts, which came on 8-for-14 from the floor, and she also had a game-high 13 rebs and 3 blocked shots. Seng had 12 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts and 2 steals. Cruz had 6 pts, 5 rebs, 3 blks, 2 asts and a steal.
For Cerritos, Allyson O'Brien scored 10 pts, including a pair of threes, and Sydney Lopez had 9 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Ashley Flores had 6 pts plus a team-high 8 rebs and a game-high 5 steals.
The win breaks a tie atop the SCC-South and gives Long Beach sole possession of the division lead. LBCC improves to 21-4 overall on the season, with 3 of those losses coming to perennial powerhouse Mt. San Antonio.
box score
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 - 5 pm
at the LBCC Hall of Champions, Long Beach
SCC-South (women)
Cerritos 46:
12-Verenice Gomez, PG - 1/7 fg, 1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
15-Ashley Flores, C - 2/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 2 blk, 5 stl, 5 pf, 6 pts
20-Allyson O'Brien, SF - 3/15 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 10 pts
22-Miranda Valentin, PF - 1/5 fg, 5 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
24-Clarissa Hernandez, SG - 2/9 fg, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
21-Kennedi Cooper, G - 2/12 fg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
13-Sydney Lopez, F - 3/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 9 pts
11-Janel Oliver, G - 1/6 fg, 4/7 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
34-Crystal Lomax, C - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 stl, 4 pf, 3 pts
10-Chyann Richard, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
30-Kaylyn James, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 16/69 fg (.232), 11/15 ft (.733), 41 reb, 11 ast, 6 blk, 16 stl, 24 pf, 46 pts
3-pt fg (3): O'Brien 2, Lopez
Fouled Out: Flores 19.0 seconds left
Turnovers (22): O'Brien 5, Cooper 5, Hernandez 4, Lomax 3, Flores 2, Oliver 2, Lopez
Long Beach 56:
3-Imani Johnson, SG - 1/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
5-Lupe Cruz, PF - 2/5 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
20-Sopavy Seng, SF - 3/7 fg, 6/6 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 12 pts
22-Taylor Smith, PG - 0/3 fg, 6/8 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 6 pts
32-Miranda Martinez, C - 8/14 fg, 1/1 ft, 13 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
24-Kayla Sii, G - 1/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
4-Paris Lucci, F - 2/12 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 pts
33-Christiana Layne, C - 0/2 fg, 4 reb, 0 pts
1-Destynee Jones, G - 0/1 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
2-Jakarra Waddell, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
15-Kendria Rendon, F - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 18/56 fg (.321), 20/28 ft (.714), 55 reb, 12 ast, 7 blk, 13 stl, 20 pf, 56 pts
3-pt fg (0): none
Turnovers (28): Martinez 7, Jones 5, Johnson 4, Cruz 4, Sii 3, Seng 2, Smith 2, Lucci
Score by Quarters:
Cerritos 12-9-14-11=46
Long Beach 16-8-14-18=56
Updated Records: Long Beach (#3-South) 21-4, 5-0 in SCC-South; Cerritos (#10-South) 18-9, 4-1 in SCC-South
It was tied 44-44 with 3:25 left and neither team led by more than 8 until...
...Long Beach went on a 12-0 run in the last 2:38 to get the win.
