CYPRESS, CA – The three-peat defending Orange Empire Conference Champion Chargers are set to begin another title defense as OEC play tips off on Wednesday, January 8th when Cypress hosts the Saddleback College Gauchos in Gym II at 7:00 pm.
The Cypress College women's basketball team wrapped up non-conference play on December 30th with a 62-55 victory over Victor Valley, clinching a third-place finish in the Grossmont Tournament. The Chargers appeared at No. 15 in the CCCWBCA SoCal Rankings released the following day.
Cypress will enter their conference opener with an 8-6 overall record, having won four of their last six games. All six Charger losses have come against opponents currently ranked in the CCCWBCA State Top-20 Poll, including No. 2 Moorpark, No. 3 Merced, No. 5 LA Trade Tech, and No. 15 El Camino. Only the Lasers of Irvine Valley, who are 10-3 in non-conference play, enter OEC action with a better record than the Chargers.
Without a doubt, the Lady Chargers have faced the toughest competition outside of the OEC, preparing them to make a run at a fourth consecutive conference crown and into the CCCAA Playoffs.
The Chargers have gotten it done relying upon strong play in the paint from sophomores Hannah Avila-McArthur and Christa Evans. Avila McArthur leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 8 rebounds per game, while being the teams second leading scorer at 10.7 points per game. Evans, who's role continues to evolve, has gotten the job done both as a starter and while coming off the bench, averaging 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Coach Mohr has put her trust in freshman guards Janei-Ruby Fuamatu and Pressila Blanco so far this season. Fuamatu averages a team-high 10.8 points per game, while shooting 36.6% from the floor. Her breakout game came in a 77-72 victory over East LA, where she poured in a season-high 34 points. Blanco is the leading distributor for Cypress, averaging a team-high 3.5 assists along with 8 points per game.
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