No. 20 Canyons to Begin Postseason at No. 13 East LA on Wednesday

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons women's basketball is back in the postseason for the 27th time in program history and second in as many years under head coach John Wissmath with an opening round matchup vs. East L.A. College.

No. 20 seed Canyons (14-14, 7-7) and No. 13 East L.A. (12-16, 4-4) tip at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 in the opening round of the 3C2A Southern California Regional Playoffs. Ticket prices for the game are $12 for general admission and $8 for all identified students, faculty, staff, senior citizens aged 60 and over, and children under 12 years old.  

Canyons finished tied for fourth in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division standings behind conference champ Glendale College (26-2, 14-0) with Citrus College (19-9, 9-5) and Antelope Valley (17-11, 9-5) sharing runner-up status. West L.A. (17-11, 7-7), Canyons and L.A. Valley (14-14, 7-7) were knotted in the next spot. All five programs qualified for postseason play.

The Lady Cougars feature a pair of all-conference selections in freshman point guard Aaliyah Garcia and freshman guard/forward Jade Sims.

Garcia led Canyons with 18 points and 4.5 assists per game while also adding 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals each night out. She logged 12 games with at least 20 points including a season-high 34 vs. Compton College on Dec. 16.

Sims averaged 16.5 points to rank second on the squad with 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Her 35 points at Bakersfield College on Feb. 7 represented a season high with 11 games in which she topped 20 points.

Elsewhere, freshmen Vanesa Zavala (10.2 points/8.8 rebounds), Alexis Ruelas (4.7 points) and Mariah Payan (2.3 points/3.8 rebounds) are joined by sophomores Hannah Tolentino (9.6 points) and Amiya Robinson (6.7 points/6.6 rebounds), who were both a part of the Lady Cougs' postseason run a season ago.

East L.A. finished third in the South Coast Conference, North Division behind conference champions Mt. San Antonio College (26-2, 8-0) and runner-up Pasadena City College (17-10, 6-2).

The Huskies took victories in three of its final five games with the most recent coming in the form of a forfeit vs. L.A. Trade Tech College.

ELAC is led by sophomore guard/forward Guadalupe Vazquez with 21.9 points, six rebounds and 2.2 assists each night out. The Huskies have three players averaging double digits with sophomore Makaia Smith (12.9 points) and freshman post player Asiah Harris (12.3 points) meeting that criteria. Harris is also averaging 9.1 rebounds per game.

The winner of Wednesday's game will move on to face No. 4 Orange Coast College (25-3, 14-0) on Saturday, March 2.

The 2024 CCCAA Women's Basketball State Championship Tournament will be held March 14-17 at Mt. San Antonio College, featuring the top eight teams from the north and south regions.

Full 3C2A Women's Basketball regional brackets are available here.

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 Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information