Women's Basketball Can't Hold On At Mt. SAC

For three quarters, the visiting Pasadena City College women's basketball team outplayed defending state champion and SoCal No. 2-ranked Mt. San Antonio. But in the fourth period, the Mounties' defense set traps and forced the Lancers into mistakes. PCC settled for a 56-47 loss and scored its season low for the second straight South Coast Conference North Division game.

PCC (16-5 overall, 0-2 in conference) showed its strength, defense in the post in the form of its blocked shot tandem of centers Alisa Shinn and Kailyn Gideon, the state leader in blocks. The Lancers caused problems for Mt. SAC (20-1, 2-0) and took a 19-12 first-quarter lead. PCC got ahead by as much as 25-14 and led 27-22 by halftime. 

While the Mounties started to close in during the third quarter, Lancers sophomore forward Ilianna Blanc was outstanding, hitting assorted bank shots, layups and a nifty hook shot in the lane. She scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the quarter and her layup gave PCC a 39-38 lead at the end of the period.

The tight game featured 12 lead changes and four ties. Mt. SAC took the lead for good, 46-44, with 4:12 left on a pair of free throws by Maddeline Dopplick. Mt. SAC outscored Pasadena, 12-3, in the waning minutes to clinch its victory. The Lancers committed 12 of their 27 turnovers in the last 10 minutes.

Shinn was a force for PCC as she scored 11 points with 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals. Gideon added eight points, nine rebounds, six blocks and three steals. 

PCC's losing streak v. Mt. SAC is now at 15 games going back to the 2010 season. The Lancers scored less than 50 points for the second game in a row after scoring 53 or better in each of their first 19 games. This is also the first time in '16-17 season that Pasadena lost consecutive games.