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Women’s Basketball: No. 4 Long Beach set to open playoff run Saturday vs. No. 13 Riverside

Women’s Basketball: No. 4 Long Beach set to open playoff run Saturday vs. No. 13 Riverside

2015-16 CCCAA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PLAYOFFS BRACKET

Long Beach City College will begin its run towards its first women's basketball state championship on Saturday when the No. 4 seeded Vikings host No. 13 Riverside City College in Round 2 of the 2016 Southern California Regional Playoffs. Game time is 7 p.m. at the LBCC Hall of Champions Gym.

Tickets for the state playoff game are $12 for general admission and $8 for students, faculty, staff, senior citizens over 60, and children under 12 years old.

LBCC is making its fifth straight postseason appearance under sixth-year head coach Michael Anderson. The Vikings bring a 23-5 overall record into the playoffs and captured a South Coast Conference South Division championship with a 7-1 mark. For his impressive season, Anderson was named SCC South Division Coach of the Year for the second time. The Vikings are a perfect 7-0 at home this season.

Long Beach is led by SCC South Division Player of the Year Sopavy Seng. The freshman guard out of Long Beach Poly High School was also a second-team All-State selection for LBCC. She is averaging 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Sophomore forward Lupe Cruz was a third-team All-State pick as well as a first-team All-SCC South Division selection. Cruz, out of South East High School, leads Long Beach with 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Riverside is 17-11 overall and finished third in the Orange Empire Conference with a 7-5 record. The Tigers are led by a pair of first team All-OEC honorees in sophomore guard Jordan Lofton with a 13.5 points per game average, followed closely by freshman guard DoyleBonet Walker at 13.2 PPG. Riverside is making its second straight trip to the playoffs under head coach Alicia Berber.

The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to face either No. 5 Irvine Valley College or No. 12 Cerritos College in Round 3 on Wednesday, March 2. Three wins are needed to advance to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Basketball State Championship on March 11 & 13 at Las Positas College in Livermore.