Women’s Cagers Finish 3rd At Desert Winter Classic

Ranked No. 13 in the latest state poll, the Pasadena City College women’s basketball team has not fared as well against the higher rated squads. While PCC took third place at the College of the Desert Winter Classic December 17-19, the team’s loss came against No. 2-ranked Mt. San Jacinto, 71-54, in the semifinals.

The Lancers (9-5 overall) have also lost to No. 3 San Joaquin Delta, No. 5 Long Beach City, No. 6 Ventura, and No. 16 Cerritos. PCC does have victories over Ventura and No. 11 Sacramento City and No. 18 Irvine Valley.

“We have plenty of room for improvement,” said PCC head coach Joe Peron. “We were making our 3-point shots earlier in the year and now we are in a prolonged slump. Our offense is not where it needs to be. Defensively, we’ve been pretty good in many of our games but certainly we struggled against Mt. San Jacinto.”

The Lancers gave up a season high in points in that loss while shooting a season-low from the field (14 of 60 attempts, 23.3 percent) against the undefeated Eagles (12-0). PCC is 12th in the state in defense with a stingy 51.7 points allowed average. The offense is a modest No. 20 at 67.6 per game.

In the MSJC defeat, PCC did shoot free throws well, making 24 of 31 (77.4) with Ella Stepanian hitting 7-for-8 as part of her team-high 17 points. Judith Espinoza added 14 points and was 9-of-12 at the stripe.

PCC dominated host Desert in the third place final, 78-31, the second time the Lancers defeated COD in a third place game with the other at the Glendale Tournament (93-46 on November 21). Pasadena outscored the Roadrunners, 43-8, in the second half.

Stepanian, a freshman guard, poured in 19 points and dished out six assists while forward Ilianna Blanc added a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. Starting forward Jolene Robinson had nine points and made six steals and frosh point guard Emiko Powell took advantage of a rare start with nine points and three assists. Off the bench, sophomore guard Chy’Annea Hodges was a force with eight points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

In the tourney opener, freshman center Kailyn Gideon totaled 14 points and seven rebounds and Stepanian 12 points and nine boards in a 73-46 rout over Victor Valley. In the third quarter, the Lancers ran away with things, outscoring VVC, 25-7. Espinoza added 13 points, six rebounds and four steals, and Blanc eight points and eight rebounds.

Selected to the All-COD tournament team, Stepanian made a solid 57 percent of her shots from the field in the tournament on 20-for-35 shooting.

PCC next gets another test when it faces powerful Delta again to open the San Jose City College Lady Jaguar Classic on Sunday, Dec. 27 at 5 p.m. The tourney continues Dec. 28-29. The Lancers open the new year with a non-conference game at Long Beach on Jan. 6 followed by a home game v. Los Angeles Harbor on Jan. 8. All games in the new year will begin at 5 p.m. as the front end of doubleheaders with the PCC men’s team. The South Coast Conference North Division 8-game schedule won’t start until Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Los Angeles Trade Tech.