No. 14 LBCC Women's Basketball Cruises Past Grossmont in Round One of IVC Tournament

The Long Beach City College women's basketball team traveled to Irvine, CA to compete in the Irvine Valley College Tournament and faced off against the Grossmont College Griffins in opening-round action. The Vikings earned a sizable victory highlighted by halting the Griffins to three points in the second quarter en route to the 67-51 win.

Freshman guard Tiana Augustus kicked off the scoring initiatives for the Vikings by kissing two points off the glass which was assisted by sophomore forward Miranda Martinez. Augustus and Martinez paired up a possession later with Augustus assisting on a jumper off the hand of Martinez to grab an early two-point advantage.

Augustus continued to cart a hot hand later in the quarter by nailing two-consecutive jumpers, followed by a triple from sophomore guard Vivian Hernandez leading to an 18-12 lead after the opening frame.

Sophomore forward Ayerjenee Jeanmard worked her way to the charity stripe in the opening minutes of the second quarter to pocket a point. Freshman forward Brittnay McDaniel was located by Augustus for a jumper shortly after, followed by a flushed three-pointer from Hernandez. Martinez caught downtown fever as well by drilling a three pointer a possession later leading to a 35-15 lead at halftime.

The Vikings continued to press down on the offensive gas pedal with freshman guard Janay Wellington grabbing the opening two points of the third quarter. Freshman guard Clarissa Rodriguez chipped in on the offensive front by working her way to the line twice in the third quarter and hitting 3-out-of-4 free throws. Her efforts directed the Vikings to a 48-34 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

LBCC continued to work as a well-oiled machine as Jeanmard located Hernandez for three points to start the fourth quarter. McDaniel drove the lane for a layup, followed by Rodriguez snapping the bottom of the net with a jumper. McDaniel went on a hot-streak by notching four points on consecutive possessions and freshman guard Alexis Camarena capped off the Viking scoring with a jumper with 11 seconds remaining, thus earning a 67-51 victory.

Augustus was knocking on the door of a quadruple double. She led the way with a game-high 15 points while adding seven steals, six assists, and seven rebounds. McDaniel led the bench in scoring with 11 points which included a 5-for-8 mark from the floor.

Hernandez and Martinez each flushed nine points and combined for eight rebounds, while Rodriguez chipped in seven points from the bench.

The Vikings (6-4) will face off at 1 p.m. tomorrow for round two of the Irvine Valley Tournament. The opponent is TBA.