Canyons Suffers Postseason Loss at East L.A.

Story and photo by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

MONTEREY PARK — No. 20 College of the Canyons suffered a 93-78 loss at No. 13 East L.A. College in the opening round of the 3C2A Southern California Regional Playoffs on Wednesday to see its season come to a close.

Canyons (14-15), playing in the postseason for the third straight season, battled throughout the contest but was unable to overcome a tough shooting night in falling to the Huskies.

COC freshman guard Jade Sims finished the game with 34 points to finish one shy of her season high, while her backcourt counterpart fellow freshman Aaliyah Garcia added 17 points and five assists to help keep the Lady Cougars close. Vanessa Zavala added 13 points and nine rebounds to the mix.

Sophomores Amiya Robinson and Hannah Tolentino scored seven points each. Robinson's six boards were second on the squad.

Despite those efforts Canyons shot just 36 percent from the floor and were just 9-of-31 from long range.

East L.A. (13-16) received 49 points from sophomore guard Guadalupe Vazquez to help keep COC playing from behind for most of the evening. The Huskies held a tight 20-16 advantage after the first quarter en route to a 13-point halftime lead.

The Huskies led by as many as 25 points late in the third quarter before Canyons made its run. 

Sims finished with 10 points in the third quarter and added 12 more in the final frame to keep Canyons in the game. 

After a pair of free throws from Garcia at the 4:30 mark COC was in clear striking distance at 80-70. 

Vasquez' heroics continued, however, with the sophomore scoring 14 in the final frame to ultimately help move the Huskies into the next round. 

East L.A. will next face No. 4 Orange Coast College (25-3, 14-0) on Saturday, March 2. 

Canyons finished the regular season tied for fourth in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division standings and was one of five teams from the conference to advance to the playoffs. The Lady Cougars played in the postseason for the 27th time in program history and second under head coach John Wissmath who took over the program prior to the 2022-23 season. At season's end Garcia and Sims were both named All-WSC, South honorees.

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.