Tigers Win Tournament Opener, Improve to 3-0; Host Rio Hondo Saturday at 7 p.m.

RIVERSIDE – The Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's basketball team made its home debut a successful one as RCC led from the first basket and held off a pesky Cerritos College Falcons outfit, 83-68, to cap the first day of action in the Third Annual Earning Our Stripes (E.O.S.) Tournament Friday (Nov. 11).

Riverside City (3-0 overall), which jumped out to a 12-3 lead, was never headed again as it had all five starters score in double digits as sophomore guard Britney Gonzalez (Fontana / Jurupa Hills HS '15) pumped in a team-high 23 points and added three assists and four steals. Frosh guard Chiderah Uzowuru (Eastvale / Eleanor Roosevelt HS '14) added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore forward Paradise Hanchett (Moreno Valley / Rancho Verde HS '15) chipped in with 13 points and pulled down a tournament-high 17 rebounds.

The Tigers posted their biggest lead at 41-23 just before halftime.

Cerritos (0-1 overall), which eventually closed to within 70-62 with 3:10 left in the game, was paced by sophomore guard Kaylyn James (Lakewood HS), who tossed in a tournament-high 31 points. Frosh forward Esther Franks (Long Beach / Millikan HS) added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

In other first-day tournament action, the Santa Ana College Dons trailed early, before posting leads of 16-5 and 28-9 near the end of the first quarter and cruised to an 83-60 tournament-opening win over the Grossmont College Griffins. Sophomore forward Blaysen Varnadoe led the Dons (2-1 overall) with 21 points and ten rebounds. Frosh forward Khiya Mohamed (Imperial HS) led Grossmont (0-1 overall) with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

The Glendale College Vaqueros (3-0 overall) defeated the Solano College Falcons, 62-56. Glendale led from the first basket, and then 7-0, and 20-6, en route to a big lead of 34-13. Sophomore guard Luna Panosian (Hoover HS) led Glendale with 20 points. Solano (0-1 overall) was led by sophomore guard Jayme Slay (Jesse Bethel HS) with 14 points.

Friday's third game of the tournament saw the Rio Hondo College (RHC) Roadrunners vanquish the Bakersfield College (BC) Renegades, 63-49. RHC broke the fourth and final tie in the first quarter and build a 25-15 lead late in the second quarter before posting a 27-20 halftime lead. Sophomore guard Marisa DeLeon (Santa Fe HS) poured in a co-game-high 19 points and yanked down a game-high 14 rebounds for RHC (2-2 overall). Sophomore guard Aliyah Montiel (Azusa HS) also had 19 markers for the Roadrunners. Sophomore guard Marissa Figueroa (Cesar Chavez HS) had a team-high 12 points for Bakersfield (0-3 overall).

In Saturday's action, Grossmont will face Solano at 1 p.m. and Bakersfield will take on Cerritos at 3 p.m. in a pair of consolation semifinal games. On the championship side of the bracket, Santa Ana will meet Glendale at 5 p.m. and host Riverside will greet Rio Hondo at 7 p.m. 

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