The Long Beach City College women's basketball team took to their home court Friday night for the final time in the 2016-17 campaign and played host to the LA Southwest Cougars. On a night that was dedicated Coaches vs. Cancer while honoring the sophomores, the Vikings dominated the Cougars in all aspects of the game leading to a 67-36 routing over LA Southwest.
Long Beach outscored LA Southwest in each quarter with the largest tallying coming in the second quarter at 20-4.
It was a tight-knit contest after the first frame with score reading 18-12 in the Viking's favor, but Long Beach permanently distanced themselves in the second stanza. The Vikings began on a 13-0 run with sophomore guard Ayerjenee Jeanmard (Long Beach, CA) driving to the hoop for two points to kick off the run. Sophomore guard Vivian Hernandez (Downey, CA) promptly followed with three free throws after drawing a foul beyond the arc.
Freshman guard Alexis Camarena (Ventura, CA) turned defense into offense by pocketing a steal and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup. Sophomore center Miranda Martinez (Placentia, CA) hit two free throws shortly after and followed with a layup. Freshman guards Tiana Augustus (Long Beach, CA) and CeAirra Clement (Long Beach, CA) each buried a free throw, backed by a tandem of layups from Jeanmard and Martinez, respectfully, leading to a 38-16 advantage.
The Vikings continued to press down on the gas pedal with Hernandez drilling two three pointers early in the third quarter. Martinez hit two jumpers shortly after, followed by freshman guard Janay Wellington (S.D. Paradise Hills, CA) finishing off the third quarter with a free throw to bring the score to 52-26.
LBCC did their job late in the fourth quarter by hitting their free throws with Jeanmard and Camarena hitting a pair each, followed by freshman guard Clarissa Rodriguez (South Gate, CA) cashing in two points at the line. Clement drove the lane for a nice bucket a handful of possessions later, backed by Rodriguez snapping the bottom of the net for three points en route to a 67-36 win.
Hernandez paced the Vikings with 17 points off a 4-for-10 night from distance. She was a flawless 3-for-3 from the line. Martinez owned the paint to record four blocks complimented by 14 points and 16 rebounds to earn a double-double.
Jeanmard earned a double-double by dropping 10 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Wellington hauled in 10 rebounds, while Rodriguez flushed 10 points off the bench.
The Vikings (15-12, 5-2 SCC) continued to battle for a conference title by taking on the Cerritos College Falcons on Wednesday, February 15th at 7 p.m.
