In spite of outscoring host Saddleback College by 10 points in the third quarter, the Cerritos College women's basketball team could not hold off the host, as they posted a 60-55 decision on Wednesday afternoon. Next up for the Falcons (0-2) will be a home game against Taft College at 5:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

Trailing 31-27 at intermission, Cerritos limited the Bobcats to just four points on 1-of-14 shooting with three turnovers. By contrast, the Falcons knocked down a pair of three-pointers and hauled in 13 rebounds, which allowed them to take the lead.

A three-pointer from freshman Salma Garcia (Downey HS) with 6:51 left in the quarter put Cerritos in front, 32-31 before a Francine Carrillo (Cerritos HS) bucket and free throw by Genesis Salinas (Downey HS) extended the lead to 35-31. The Falcons scored the final five points of the quarter, thanks to a pair of free throws from sophomore Jayden Estrada (Anaheim HS) and a three-pointer from Natalie Poppin (La Habra HS) to take a 41-35 lead into the final quarter.

When freshman Mia Avalos (Pioneer HS) knocked down a three-pointer with 9:02 left, Cerritos had their largest lead of the game at 44-37. They extended the lead to eight points (48-40) with 6:20 remaining, but could only score seven points the remainder of the game. However, Saddleback made good on 16-of-17 free throws in the quarter, with Makayla Rutledge converting all 11 of her attempts to close out the game for the Bobcats.

Garcia, who finished with a trio of three-pointers, led the team with 10 points, while the duo of Carrillo (10 rebounds) and Poppin each scored nine points. Salinas dished out eight assists for the Falcons, while Estrada finished with six points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.