Cypress Wins Opener Over SBCC at Grossmont Tourney

Melissa Jensen leads Cypress past Santa Barbara City in tourney opener.


BOX SCORE vs. Santa Barbara City

El Cajon, Calif. - Sophomore Melissa Jensen scored a team-high 18 points - and pulled down nine boards - to lead Cypress College (9-6) past Santa Barbara City College (5-9) 51-47 in the opening round of the Grossmont Tournament on Tuesday.

Freshman Samantha Soria chipped in 11 points - including hitting on 7 of 8 shots from the free throw line. Lynzie Numata added eight points, and Sloane Turner finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

The Chargers took their first lead of the game at the 16:10 mark of the first half when Soria found Turner for the score to put Cypress up 6-4. After a layup by SBCC's Keia Nobles tied the game at 6-6, Jensen finished off an assist from Chelsea Walton with a layup to put Cypress back in front by a bucket, then picked up a steal and hit a jumper on the other end to give Cypress its biggest lead of the half at 10-6.

The Vacqueros rolled off six straight to regain the lead at 12-10, but Cypress answered right back with a triple from downtown by Numata that put the Chargers up 13-12, and a jumper by Soria that stretched the lead to three. 

Santa Barbara countered with two more quick buckets to gain a one-point edge at 16-15, with 5:18 to go before halftime.

Nikki Perkins hit a jumper for Cypress with a little over three-and-a-half minutes remaining to regain the lead for the Chargers, then Soria got a pair of free throws to drop to make it a three-point contest with 2:12 remaining.

A layup and two free throws by SBCC would close out the first half scoring, and send the Chargers into the locker room trailing by a point, 20-19. 

Cypress kept the game close after the intermission, and tied the game at 26-26 with 16 minutes to go in regulation on a layup by Kaitlyn Roche. The Chargers grabbed a quick three-point advantage on three by Numata, but the Vacqueros would go on a 10-1 run after that to open up a 38-32 lead over Cypress. SBCC held onto that lead until Jensen hit a layup with just under eight to go to make it a four-point game.


The Chargers got back to within a point after two Soria free throws, then finally tied the game at 40-40 with 2:19 left to play when Walton drained a clutch jumper.


Cypress finished strong with an 11-7 run to close out the game that included a four-point play by Jensen that sealed the deal. Jensen hit a three and converted her free throw to put Cypress up 49-45 with only 16 ticks left on the clock. 

SBCC converted a quick layup to make it a two-point game, but Soria drained both of her free throws to end the game and secure the 51-47 victory over Santa Barbara City College in the opening round of the Grossmont Tournament.


The Chargers play Citrus tomorrow in the second round of the Grossmont Tournament.

Cypress finishes fourth at AVC Holiday Tourney

Cypress takes fourth after loss to Mt. San Jacinto in third-place game.

• BOX SCORE vs. Mt. San Jacinto
• BOX SCORE vs. Antelope Valley
• BOX SCORE vs. L.A. Pierce

Palmdale, Calif. - The Chargers (8-6) took fourth place at the Antelope Valley College Holiday Tournament after falling to Mt. San Jacinto 68-63 in the third-place game.

Sloane Turner led all scorers with a game-high 23 points. Turner also led the Chargers in rebounds with a team-high eight boards. Samantha Soria finished with a game-high six assists and three steals. Soria also chipped in eight points for the Chargers. Lynzie Numata and Jonell Bowers tied for second on the team in scoring with nine points apiece.

The Chargers will take a break from playing until after the Christmas holiday when they travel south to play in the Grossmont Tournament on Tuesday, December 28.


Cypress College (8-5) fell to host Antelope Valley 55-47 in the semi-final round of the AVC Holiday Tournament.

Denshay Wallace finished with a team-high 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting. Sloane Turner led the Chargers in rebounds with 12 - five offensive and seven defensive. Samantha Soria finished with three assists. Soria and Turner each added seven points apiece.

Cypress takes on Mount San Jacinto in the third place game.

Cypress College (8-4) held on for a 58-52 victory over L.A. Pierce College (6-6) in the opening game of the Antelope Valley College Holiday Tournament on Thursday.

Donna Kaanoi

After trailing 24-22 at the half, the Chargers picked it up on offense to outscore the Brahmas 36-28 after the break, and pull out the victory to advance in the winners bracket. Cypress will take on host AVC in the semis at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Freshman guard Samantha Soria tossed in 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting to lead the Charger attack. Turner Sloane turned in a double-double performance after pulling down 15 boards to go along with 10 points. Donna Kaanoi and Jonell Bowers each chipped in eight points.

As a team, Cypress bounced back from a poor first half of shooting to knock down 15 of 35, and 2 of 2 from beyond the arc.

Next up for the Chargers is a head-to-head matchup against host Antelope Valley at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Chargers Fall to Cougars on Road.

Cypress will finish its non-conference schedule at Antelope Valley, Dec. 15.


Santa Clarita, Calif - Cypress College (7-4) lost its second consecutive game with a 78-62 road loss at College of the Canyons on Wednesday.

Coming off a home loss to East L.A. in the finals of the Lady Charger Classic, the Chargers weren't able to rebound with a victory over the Cougars (4-3) on the road.

Cypress allowed College of the Canyons to put 35 on the board in the first half on 14 of 22 shooting for a 63.6%. The Chargers defense forced the Cougars into a worse shooting percentage in the second half of play (38.2%), but COC did its work at the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of 21 free throws to keep the Chargers at bay.

Angelica Sahagun had a game-high 20 rebounds for the Cougars, while Jazzmyn Davis led in scoring with 21 points against the Chargers.

Cypress will finish out its non-conference schedule next week at the Antelope Valley Holiday Tournament, December 15-17, at Antelope Valley College.

Cypress Takes Second Place at Charger Classic

Cypress lost to East L.A. 61-48 in the finals of the Lady Charger Classic.

• Charger Classic Tournament Bracket

Cypress, Calif. - Cypress College finished second in the 2011 Lady Charger Classic on Sunday after a 61-48 loss to East. Los Angeles College in the championship final at Don Johnson Court in Cypress, Calif.

Women's Basketball Continues to Roll

Cypress routs Sacramento City in opening game of Merced Tourney.

The Chargers are 3-1 to start the season.

Merced, Calif. - Cypress College women's basketball cruised to an easy 55-34 victory over Sacramento City in the opening game of the Merced Tournament.

Freshman Tera Salhus and sophomore Jonell Bowers led a balanced Chargers (3-1) offense with eight points apiece. Freshman point guard Sam Soria added seven points, while fellow frosh Sloan Turner tacked on six points and four blocked shots.

The Chargers imposed their will from begining to end in this matchup. With a smothering defensive effort, Cypress went into halftime leading 30-20.

After the break, the Chargers got even tougher on defense by only allowing 14 points the rest of the game.

Cypress will take on San Joaquin Delta in the semi-final round of the Merced Tourney at 7 p.m. on Friday. The last time a Cypress team played Delta, the Chargers walked away with a softball state championship.