State #16 Women's Cagers Upends #13 Rio Hondo In SCC North Opener

While the Pasadena City College women's basketball team welcomed the return of sophomore point guard Cosette Balmy after missing seven games due to injury, the Lancers All-State, multi-position letterman Dariel Johnson is heating up at the right time. Johnson reached a 20-20 for the second straight game as state #16-ranked PCC rolled past #13 Rio Hondo, 71-55, Friday night in the South Coast Conference North Division opener. 

Johnson matched her career-high with 25 rebounds and scored 20 points while Balmy came off the bench to tally 19 points, and fives in rebounds, steals, and assists. Another player stepping up was sophomore guard Merina Latu, who scored a game-high 22 points, draining four 3-pointers. 

Off the bench, the team got a lift from sophomore center Teana DuBose, who scored five points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked three shots.

Rio Hondo led 15-12 after one quarter and then 20-15 before PCC went on a 17-0 scoring spurt during the second period. Latu started the run on a 3-pointer, followed by a steal and layup by Johnson and another steal and basket by Balmy. On the next possesion, Balmy was fouled on a 3-point try and she sank all three free throws. DuBose would cap the rally with a surprising 3-point swish to the left of the circle that increased PCC's lead to 32-20 with 1:30 left in the first half.

Pasadena (14-5 overall) started out the third quarter with back-to-back 3s by Johnson and Latu. Latu's steal and basket at the period buzzer had PCC ahead by 20, 57-37, going into the fourth quarter. Rio Hondo (15-7 and now 0-2 in conference play) never threatened. The Roadrunners were paced by Sally Smith who scored 14 points. 

"We're a different team when both Cosette and Dariel are playing healthy and at 100 percent," said PCC head coach Joe Peron, who collected his career 535th victory in now his 24th season in charge of the program. "The two kind of feed off each other, but it also opens up a shooter like Merina to get us going. Our defense shut Rio Hondo down for most of that second quarter. It was a nice way to start off conference. Every game is like a playoff game if you want to win the division title."

PCC visits #15-rated East Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in a 5 p.m. conference tip-off.