Lady Cougars Can't Catch Up in 81-70 Loss to LAVC

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Directo

College of the Canyons dropped an 81-70 home result to conference foe L.A. Valley College on Saturday night in the Cougar Cage.

Canyons was largely undone by a paltry seven-point output in the first quarter which put the Lady Cougars on the wrong end of a 24-7 score after the first 10 minutes 

Despite that slow start, Canyons made it a ballgame after trailing 45-32 at the break.  

COC limited the Monarchs to just 12 points in the third quarter and started the fourth quarter down just four points at 57-53.

Alexis Ruelas' three-pointer in the opening moments of the quarter got COC to within a point at 57-56. Three minutes later, Canyons tied the game at 63-63 on Hannah Tolentino's long-range jumper with 6:40 to go in the game. LAVC scored the next six points, however, and never looked back before emerging with the victory.

Jade Sims sank a three with 35 seconds on the clock to give Canyons hope at 75-70, but the Monarchs converted on all six free throws down the stretch to prevent the comeback attempt. 

Sims led all scorers with 23 points and added five rebounds, a block and three assists. Aaliyah Garcia finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

Vanessa Zavala ended the game with 12 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals, and Hannah Tolentino added 11 points to the Canyons total.

LAVC was led by three players over the 20-point plateau with a team-best 22 and 14 rebounds from Samantha Maldonado. The Monarchs shot nearly 52 percent from the floor while limiting COC to a mark of just under 34 percent.

The loss places Canyons (12-10, 5-3) in a tie with LAVC (12-10, 5-3) for third place in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division standings. Glendale College (20-2, 8-0) leads the conference ahead of Citrus College (17-5, 7-1). 

Up next, the Lady Cougars travel to Bakersfield College at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7. Canyons returns to Lee Smelser Court at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 for a home tilt vs. Citrus.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.  

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information