Canyons Ends Season with 61-60 Loss to Citrus

The College of the Canyons women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in its season finale vs. Citrus College, with the Cougars coming back from a 12-point halftime deficit to eventually fall just short at 61-60.

The Cougars opened the game by shooting 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half, compared to a 61.9 percent clip from the Owls. That key differential allowed Citrus to build a 36-21 lead heading into halftime.

The duo of COC freshman forward Monica Friedl and sophomore guard Qimmah Russo helped keep the Cougars competitive. Friedl had nine points in the first half, while Russo led with 10. However, the only other Cougar to score in the period was sophomore Nayiri Aslanian who chipped in with five points.

That trend would continue in the second half, as only one other Cougar managed to score more than two points.

Nevertheless, Canyons stormed back into what would become a wild, back-and-forth contest between the two Western State Conference (WSC), South rivals.

COC trailed 52-45 with just over five minutes to play, when Russo hit a big-three pointer to draw within four points. On the next possession it was Russo again, this time hitting a pair of big free throws to draw within two points at 52-50. 

A few posession later a three-point layup and foul shot combination from Aslanian made it 55-54. But Canyons could never manage to pull ahead. 

In the closing seconds of the game Russo was able to convert on a running layup attempt making it 61-60, but could not get the foul call needed to give Canyons a shot at the tie. 

Russo led all COC scorers with 21 points on a 6-of-15 shooting night. Friedl ranked second with 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds and two blocks. Aslanian finished with 14 points and five rebounds.

COC head coach Greg Herrick and the Cougars (16-13, 6-8) failed to reach the postseason for the first time in 22 seasons.

The last time COC's women's basketball team did not compete in the postseason was the 1992-93 campaign, Herrick's first year at the helm of the program.