Chargers Begin Playoff Run at LBCC this Friday

No. 11 seed Cypress College will go on the road to face No. 7 seed Long Beach City College 

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Melissa Jensen

Cypress, Calif. - No. 11 seed Cypress College begins its 2011-12 playoff run this Friday at 7 p.m., with a road contest at No. 7 seed Long Beach City College. The CCCAA women's basketball regional seedings were released for the North and South Regional Playoff Brackets today. 

The Chargers finished off a spectacular regular season with a Co-Orange Empire Conference Championship after posting a 10-2 mark in league play, that included a sweep of the other Co-OEC champ Fullerton College.

Winning on the road in the playoffs is nothing new for Cypress head coach Margaret Mohr's Chargers. Last season, Cypress had to win three straight road games on its way to the State Championship Final Four - where the Chargers finished the season with a third-place finish in the final state rankings.

That squad was weighted heavily with talented sophomores, which included State Player of the Year, Micaela Pickens. After helping guide the Chargers to the State Championship semi-final last season, Pickens received a full-ride to go to Arizona State where she currently plays now.

After losing all of that sophomore talent, Mohr wasn't sure if this young team - that only has five sophomores on the roster - had the experience to win an OEC title. 

"I'm so proud of the job those girls did this season," Mohr said. "They put the time in to be successful and it paid off."

The Chargers will get a chance to show how much they've improved since the beginning of the season, when they travel to Long Beach City College for a rematch with the Vikings. On November 3, Cypress lost to the Vikings 49-40, in a game both squads would probably like to forget. With only a few college games under their belts at the time, Cypress committed a lot of turnovers, and put LBCC in position to win. 

It's been more than three-and-a-half months, 22 games, and a conference championship since thenfor a Charger team that has matured tremendously during that time. Their OEC schedule left them battle tested, and they've proven that they can win big games when they have to.

In the playoffs, every game could be their last, so we will soon find out if this year's team can put Cypress College back in the State Championship Final Four for a second straight season.

Friday's game will be web-streamed LIVE on the Cypress College Athletics website, and on the Cypress College UStream channel at 7 p.m. on Friday night from Long Beach City College. Click on the UStream tab at the top of the Athletics page to watch the game there, or you can click on the Watch Now Cypress Chargers Live link located on the right side of the homepage.  If you can't make it to the game, make sure you tune in to cheer on the Chargers as they begin their run for a state title.

All games are to be hosted by the higher seeded teams with a 7 p.m. tip-off. In the event of a doubleheader, game times shall be at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.