Chargers Open Conference Play with Rout of Tigers

Chargers look good in conference opening win over Riverside.

Sloan Turner

Cypress, Calif. - Cypress College came out after halftime and put together a solid second half effort to pull away with a 62-46 victory over Riverside Community College in the Orange Empire Conference opener on Don Johnson Court on Wednesday.

Sloan Turner led the Chargers (10-8, 1-0) with game-highs in total points (14), and rebounds (12), on her way to a double-double against an over-matched Tigers (6-11, 0-1) squad that began the night severely shorthanded. RCC only started the game with seven players on the bench - and only six played.

Freshman Denshay Wallace finished with eight points, Samantha Soria had seven, and two others tied with six points apiece. Donna Ka' anoi sparked the Charger defense with five steals.

After a back-and-forth first half, Cypress headed into halftime clinging to a narrow 25-23 lead. The beginning of the second period would be a close battle as well, but the Chargers' press on defense began to wear Riverside down, while Cypress' offensive attack began to exploit holes in the Tigers zone.

With the second half winding down, Nikki Perkins hit back-to-back jumpers with 6:34 to go to give Cypress a 48-40 lead. A few minutes later, Soria closed out the scoring for the game when she hit both of her free throws to finish off a 9-2 Charger run, and secure the 61-46 Orange Empire Conference victory over Riverside Community College.

Cypress will go on the road to face off against seventh-ranked Saddleback College (14-2, 1-0) on Friday, January 6 at 7:40 p.m. in Mission Viejo, Calif.