By Wes McCurtis

CYPRESS, CA – The Cypress College women's basketball team (17-6, 5-1 OEC) dominated the Santa Ana College Dons (12-10, 2-4 OEC) in a 98-63 victory at home on Wednesday night. The Chargers entered the night ranked No. 16 in the state and No. 9 in Southern California 

Sylvia Garcia led the Chargers with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Dominique Culhno added 13 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Monique Mesa recorded 10 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Chargers' bench. 

Taylor Ivicevic finished with a game-high 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting for Santa Ana. 

The Chargers came ready to play after slow starts in their previous 3 games. Cypress opened the game on a 13-2 run and snagged a commanding 26-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Chargers' relentless full court pressure forced the Dons into 11 first quarter turnovers, resulting in easy transition points. Cypress shot 11-of-18 to start the game, while holding the Dons to just 3-of-14 shooting. Santa Ana's struggles continued in the second quarter as they were outscored 27-10 and entered the half trailing 53-18. 

The Dons played Cypress tough in the second half but the deficit was too much to overcome. Santa Ana simply had no answer for the Chargers' on ball pressure as Cypress recorded 23 steals, their second highest total this season. Cypress shot a season-high 52% from the field on their way to a season-high 98 points. 

Women's basketball will return to action against district rival Fullerton at home on Friday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m. on Coaches vs. Cancer Night.

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