Women’s Basketball: No. 4 Long Beach advances with 62-51 playoff win over No. 13 Riverside

Sophomore Lupe Cruz (South East HS) posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the No. 4-seeded Long Beach City College Vikings to a 62-51 win over No. 13 Riverside City College in a second-round game of the 2016 Southern California Regional Playoffs.

Long Beach (24-5) opened the game with a 7-0 run and never trailed. The Vikings were up 32-26 at halftime.

Cruz took over in the third quarter, posting five blocks, four rebounds, and six points as LBCC opened the period with a 9-2 run.

Sophomore Taylor Smith (Redondo Union HS) added 11 points for the Vikings while freshman Miranda Martinez (El Dorado HS) added nine points and nine rebounds. Freshman Sopavy Seng (Poly HS) chipped in with five points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Riverside (17-12) got a game-high 20 points by DoyleBonet Walker with Jordan Lofton adding 18 points. Paradise Hanchett led all with 16 rebounds.

Long Beach advances to Round 3 of the SoCal Playoffs and will host No. 5 Irvine Valley College on Wednesday (Mar. 2) at 7 p.m. The two squads have met once this season with Long Beach beating Irvine Valley 46-40 in the championship final of the IVC tournament on Dec. 12.

Irvine Valley defeated Cerritos College 64-49 on Friday to advance in the playoffs.