Viking Women's Basketball Exits Playoffs Early with Round One Loss to Antelope Valley

After hauling in their second-consecutive South Coast Conference (SCC) – South title and sixth in program history, the Long Beach City College women's basketball team faced off against the Antelope Valley College Marauders on their home hardwood in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Regional Round One playoffs. Despite the Vikings dominating the first quarter of the contest, Long Beach simmered off for the remainder of the game en route to a crushing 65-59 defeat.

The Vikings snagged their first advantage early in the first quarter with freshman guard Janay Wellington (S.D. Paradise Hills, CA) locating sophomore center Miranda Martinez (Placentia, CA) for a layup. Martinez went on a short run by hitting three-consecutive jumpers to put the Vikings up by six points. Sophomore guard Tiana Augustus (Long Beach, CA) chipped in on the scoring action with a layup, followed by a layup from Wellington. Sophomore forward Ayerjenee Jeanmard (Long Beach, CA) capped off the quarter by drilling two free throws to hand the Vikings a 17-8 lead.

All systems were a go for Long Beach in the early stages of the second stanza as freshman guard Alexis Camarena (Ventura, CA) snapped the bottom of the net for three points. However, Antelope Valley strung together an 18-3 run thats stretched through the majority of the second quarter to hand them a sudden 24-23 advantage. Jeanmard axed the run by converting an and-one play at the conclusion of the quarter to bring the score to 26-all at halftime.

Despite the dagger, the Vikings came out strong in the third quarter by regaining the lead after sophomore guard Vivian Hernandez (Downey, CA) flushed a three pointer. Jeanmard followed a possession later with a three pointer as well. Martinez leaned into a jumper two possessions later to maintain a 37-34 advantage entering into a timeout.

The Vikings did their best to maintain a lead with Hernandez drilling another three pointer, but the Marauders trimmed the lead back down to two points with the scoreboard reading 44-42 entering into the final 10 minutes of action.

A back-and-forth affair ensued as four ties and four lead changes were featured in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings started off well with Jeanmard hitting a three pointer to go up by three points early. She later added two free throws, followed by an and-one play from Wellington. However, the Vikings were unable to capitalize off the Marauders sloppy offense down the stretch en route to a 65-59 defeat.

Jeanmard capped off her career for the Vikings with 18 points that featured an 8-for-9 mark from the line. Martinez netted 12 points in her Viking finale, while Wellington matched her output at 12.

The Vikings finished their season at an 18-12 mark that features an impressive 9-1 conference record.