Through the first half of their South Coast Conference crossover game against East Los Angeles College (8-9) on Wednesday, the Cerritos College women's basketball team trailed by just four points. But the Falcons (5-11), playing with just six players, ran out of steam in the second half and went on to drop a 65-40 decision against the Huskies. The team will host another crossover game on Friday at 5:00 p.m., as they welcome Mt. San Antonio College.

Down, 9-3 early in the first quarter, the Falcons received a three-pointer from freshman Natalie Poppin (La Habra HS) and then a layup from freshman Lauryn Nakamura (Cypress HS) to get to within a point. After freshman Jazzmin Briggs (Lakewood HS) converted a layup in the second quarter, sophomore Jayden Estrada (Anaheim HS) gave Cerritos their first lead at 19-18 when she knocked down a three pointer with 6:20 left in the first half.

Nakamura scored four straight points to knot the game at 23-23 before East Los Angeles took their 29-25 lead into halftime. They started to pull away from the Falcons in the second half, as the Huskies hit five three-pointers in the third quarter. As a team, Cerritos was just 7-for-34 from the field in the second half.

On the day, Nakamura led the team with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists, with freshman Mia Avalos (Pioneer HS) adding eight points and four assists. Sophomore Francine Carrillo (Cerritos HS) led Cerritos with 11 rebounds, with Poppin finishing with seven points and Briggs accounting for six points and seven rebounds.

Photos by Daryl Peterson