Latu's 29 Points Can't Get #13 Women's Hoops Past #7 Glendale

Merina Latu matched a team season-high of 29 points but the scoring bonanza wasn't enough for the state #13-ranked Pasadena City College women's basketball team Saturday night. Host Glendale, ranked #7, picked up its first-ever win over a Coach Joe Peron Lancers team, 71-61. The Vaqueros were 0-5 previously against PCC in games going back to the 1996-97 season.

The Lancers are 11-3 overall, but 1-2 in the last three games playing without their sophomore point guard Cosette Balmy, who is out with an undisclosed injury. Top sophomore forward Dariel Johnson, who also missed two games due to injury, returned to the lineup v. Glendale and scored nine points (all in the fourth quarter) while grabbing 14 rebounds. Latu has picked up the scoring slack in Balmy's absence especially in making more drives to the basket. The sophomore guard was an outstanding 12 of 14 shots from the floor (86 percent) overall, including 2-for-3 on 3-point attempts. 

Glendale (14-1) jumped out to a 24-13 first-quarter lead thanks to the hot long-range shooting of Zoe Rouse, who made five 3-pointers in six launches and scored 17 of her team-high 20 points. In the second quarter, Latu was a perfect 6-for-6 shooting, including back-to-back layups that cut the score to 27-26. Glendale took a 38-32 lead into halftime.

In the third period, the Vaqueros used 3-point bombs from four different players and led 58-47 going into the final quarter. Johnson made a trey of her own that cut it to 58-50, but again the Vaqueros placed the dagger into the Lancers on two treys by Tess Oakley-Stilson. Overall, Glendale converted 14-for-30, a scorching 47 percent on 3s compared to PCC's 5-for-15. Freshman point guard Kaniya Hill added 12 points and three steals for PCC. 

At the San Bernardino Valley Holiday Classic on Dec. 28, PCC played just one contest but routed Southwestern, 70-48. Frosh forward Kristal Espinoza performed a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while also adding team highs in steals (five) and assists (four). First-year forward Pamela Gonzalez contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds plus three steals, Latu dropped in 13 points, and Hill also reached double digits with 12 points (and threes in steals and assists). Letterman guard Mya Rivera added five points and seven boards off the bench. Pasadena was 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the free throw line.

On Dec. 20 in a game played at Master's University, unranked College of the Canyons took advantage of not facing the powerful Johnson-Balmy duo and downed the short-handed Lancers, 66-51. PCC trailed just 27-24 at halftime and then led, 35-32, on a Gonzalez put-back with 5:54 left in the third quarter. At that point, the Lancers went stone cold as the Cougars scored 16 unanswered points that put the game away. In all, Pasadena went nearly seven minutes without a point before Gonzalez made a jumper early in the fourth period. Latu led PCC with 15 points, followed by Espinoza tallying 12 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Gonzalez had 11 points.

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, the Lancers return to Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium to face state #1-ranked Moorpark (15-1) in a 7 p.m. non-conference contest.