South Coast Conference champion Vikings named No. 6 seed for playoffs; claim eight All-SCC postseason honors
The postseason run for the Long Beach City College women's basketball team will get underway later in the week for the Vikings. On Sunday, LBCC was named the No. 6 seed for the upcoming Southern California Regional Playoffs.
Thanks to a top-8 seed, the Vikings received a bye in the opening round and will host the winner of No. 11 Riverside City College and No. 22 MiraCosta College in a second-round game on Saturday (Feb. 25) at 7 p.m.
Ticket prices for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) postseason game at the Hall of Champions Gym are $12 for general admission and $8 for all identified students, faculty, staff, senior citizens age 60 and over, and children under 12 years old.
The Vikings head into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the state, winning 13 straight contests on their way to a 21-6 overall record. Long Beach went 9-0 in South Coast Conference South Division play to capture its third straight conference championship. LBCC was most-recently ranked No. 16 in the state, No. 6 in Southern California.
Riverside enters the playoffs with a 19-9 overall record and finished fourth in the Orange Empire Conference at 6-6. MiraCosta tied for second place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference and is 13-12 overall.
Long Beach would be facing Riverside and MiraCosta for the first time this season in Saturday's second-round game. Two wins are needed by the Vikings to advance to the CCCAA State Championships on March 9-12 at West Hills College Lemoore in Lemoore.
ALL-SCC POSTSEASON HONORS
After dominating South Coast Conference opponents this season, the Vikings dominated the SCC South Division postseason awards by bringing home eight honors.
Leading the way was sophomore guard Amanda Lopez as she was named the SCC South Division Most Valuable Player. Lopez averaged 15.3 points, a SCC-leading 8.0 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Also earning top honors was head coach Ollie Brent. After leading LBCC to a perfect 9-0 in conference play, Brent was named the South Coast Conference South Division Coach of the Year.
Named first-team All-SCC South were sophomore Aaliyah Carter (15.0 PPG/11.6 RPC), sophomore Jaden Sanderson (16.5 PPG/7.4 RPG), and sophomore Ariana Grimes (11.0 PPG/8.7 RPG). Second-team honors went to freshman Sierra Hill (8.1 PPG/4.4 RPG), freshman Chioma Okenwa (4.8 PPG/7.4 RPG), and sophomore Rosemary Lazareno (9.2 PPG/4.6 RPG).