The #6 Long Beach City College women defeated #3 Moorpark College, 66-62, on Saturday to move to 7-3 on the season. It was the first victory against a ranked opponent for the Lady Vikings and the first of five games played in the month of December.
Aaliyah Carter, the Viking's leader in points and double doubles per game, added 22 points and 16 rebounds. Jaden Sanderson and Michelle Nguyen, both finished with 9 points , Amanda Lopez and Chioma Okenwa, finished with 8 points.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the two teams exchanging leads four times. Long Beach City led by four in the end of first quarter, but the Raiders would come back in the second quarter to lead by as many as eight by halftime.
After being down 37-29 at the half, the Lady Vikings opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run in the first minute, to close the gap to 2. Aaliyah Carter, collecting six rebounds and five points this quarter, led the Vikings to be down one point going into the fourth quarter, 47-46.
With :54 remaining in the game, a dribble-drive layup from Michelle Nguyen put the Vikings up by two points. With a pair of free-throws from Chioma Okenwa and Michelle Nguyen on consecutive trips down the court, dashed all hopes of a comeback from Moorpark College.
The Lady Vikings held the Raiders to 25 second half points to take the 66-62 win.
Long Beach will travel to L.A. Valleys Buddy All-Star Classic on Thursday December 8th to face #7 Ventura College.
