San Joaquin Delta rolls past L.A. Trade Tech, 81-65, for CCCAA Championship semifinal berth

CCCAA Basketball Championship Tournament Central
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VENTURA - The Mustangs of San Joaquin Delta College (#3 North) provided the first upset of the CCCAA Basketball Championship weekend, upending the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College Beavers (#2 South) by 16 points in a mostly one-sided contest during the CCCAA Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinals on Friday at Ventura College.

Delta (26-5) advances to Saturday's CCCAA Semifinals to play winner of Diablo Valley (29-1) vs. Ventura (25-9).

Two San Joaquin Delta players posted double-doubles: Dowanae Anthony led her team with 22 points and added 12 rebounds, and Sankia Braxton had a team-high 16 rebounds with her 12 points.  Starters Paiton Demps and Lauren Rabena each posted double digit point figures in the win.

Deejanae Poland started things off for LA Trade-Tech with a quick layup immediately off the tip-off, as her team would storm ahead to a 10-2 lead.  Delta clawed their way back, and after trading some points with LATTC they tied the game at 14 just before the 4-minute mark.  The Mustangs would finish the quarter with a 25-20 lead.

The Beavers rallied in the second quarter to tie the game up at 32, and again at 37, but found trouble answering for Delta's baskets as they went on a 12-2 run over three and a half minutes to finish the half with a 49-39 lead.  Both teams struggled with three-point shooting in the first half, but the Mustangs punished the Beavers with their inside shooting, scoring 38 points in the paint for LATTC's 24 by halftime. 

Both teams had trouble finding the hoop in the third quarter, shooting a combined 8-for-34 from the field.  Delta had some success in tiring out the Beavers offense by applying pressure in the backcourt, preventing them from gaining any ground on the scoreboard and marginally extending their lead to 62-51 by the end of the period.

The tempo picked up slightly in the final frame, but Trade-Tech were unable to gain any ground on Delta.  The Beavers relied heavily on their starters, with Cheyenne Givens, Cheyenne, McKinnie and Deejanae Poland all posting double-digit points; Kemanie Patterson also had a team-high 11 rebounds.  LATTC only had two bench points for Delta's 14 – all from Trena Rathjen, who also nabbed eight rebounds. 

(Brian Mellblom, CCCSIA)