VALLEY GLEN, CA- The Chargers women's basketball team (9-3, 0-0 OEC) won the LA Valley Tournament over the Dec. 8th-10th weekend. Cypress delivered a clean sweep in their three games against Mt. Sac (6-5, 0-0 SCC), San Francisco (7-3. 0-0 CC) and Ventura (8-3, 0-0 WSC).
12/08/22 vs Mt. Sac, 60-59
In their first matchup, the Chargers played from behind almost the entire game. Being outscored by double digit points to end the first quarter, Cypress fought to stay in the game. The next two frames were the same as the Chargers were down 13 points at half and 12 points at the end of the third quarter. In the final ten minutes Cypress climbed all the way back. Down by 10 points with 2 minutes left, the defensive effort stopped the Mounties from scoring again. Rallying back, the Chargers recovered key rebounds and made a jump shot with :03 seconds on the game clock. Cypress's comeback gave them their first win of the tournament against the No. 14 team in the CCCWBCA state rankings.
12/09/22 vs San Francisco, 58-53
In their second game, the Chargers achieved an overall team win with contributions from the whole team. Though it was neck and neck most of the game, Cypress was outscored in the first two halves. At half, the Chargers were down six with a score of 26-32. The team shortened their deficit to two by the end of the third frame. Opening the final ten minutes, the Chargers took a lead and managed to hold onto it till the end of the game. Successful in edging the No. 6 ranked team in the CCCWBCA, Cypress were 2-0 in the tournament and headed to the championship game.
12/10/22 vs Ventura, 75-67
After defeating the No. 14 ranked Mt. Sac and No. 6 San Francisco in their first two meetings, the Chargers were set to play the No. 8 women's basketball program in the state, Ventura. Following the previous games trends, Cypress found themselves down in the first quarter. However, the Chargers broke the pattern and outscored the Pirates in the second frame. In the third, Cypress trailed and ended the quarter behind by five. Profiting off of two missed free throws by Ventura, the Chargers were fouled leading to a game tying shot with :07 seconds left. Entering a five minute overtime, Cypress managed to separate themselves by two scores with 1:05 on the game clock. The Chargers successfully completed their three game sweep and championship run.
Ashley Hawkins continued her impressive season as the Chargers point guard. She led in scoring for the team in each of the three games, with her 51 points in the championship being an all-time single game performance for Cypress College. Hawkins was named MVP of the tournament off of her 109 point weekend performance.
Alexcia Alvarez was named All-Tournament stating 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
UP NEXT: The Chargers continue play on December 19th, where they will be entering the Grossmont College Tournament.
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