Women's Cagers Pull Out Needed Victory At ELAC

The Pasadena City College women's basketball team snapped a 4-game losing streak overall and ended a 7-game drought in South Coast Conference North Division play by rallying to beat host East Los Angeles, 58-55, Wednesday evening.

The Lancers evened their overall record to 12-12 as PCC head coach Joe Peron won his 560th game in his 26th season in charge of the program. The long-time Lancer, who played on the 1982-83 state championship finalist as a player for PCC, is just two wins away from catching retired PCC Hall of Fame softball coach Sandi Iverson for the most victories by any head coach in the school's athletic history. Iverson collected 562 over 27 seasons from 1979-2006. 

It didn't look good for Pasadena after trailing 30-23 at halftime and then 39-30 midway through the third quarter. However, the Lancers roared back with a 10-0 run, including a pair of layups each by center Tena Ikidi (and two free throws) and guard Haylie Sagarra. Sheridan Orange hit a jumper that allowed the teams to be tied, 42-42, going into the fourth period. 

Over the final 10 minutes, PCC took three brief leads before the Huskies regained the advantage at 55-54 on a free throw by Maria Martinez with 1:35 remaining. Just seven seconds later, the Lancers worked it down low with Emily Trinh feeding backup center Tatiana Ayala for the game-winning layup at 56-55. Maiya Villanueva (her only point) and Ikidi each hit a single free throw down the stretch to seal a much-needed PCC win.

"We are kind of a bubble team as far as the postseason goes, so this was a huge victory not only for our confidence but for our playoff hopes," Peron said as his squad broke its recent slide. "We played better defense in the second half and our freshmen guards Orange and Sagarra stepped up for us."

Orange scored her season high of 15 points with seven rebounds and Sagarra contributed nine points, three steals and three assists. It was business as usual for the team's top player, the transfer sophomore Ikidi. From Nigeria, Ikidi was a force by scoring 15 points, grabbing 21 rebounds and posting a season-high seven blocks. Naomi Turner added nine points and six boards off the bench. 

For just the second time this season, PCC did not make a 3-point basket, missing on all 12 of its attempts. 

PCC hosts LA Trade-Tech on Friday at 5 p.m. on Title IX Awareness Night at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.