Lady Chargers Finish Third in Merced Tournament

MERCED, CA- The Cypress College women's basketball team (2-2, 0-0 OEC) played in their first tournament of the season over the weekend at Merced College. The Chargers wound up taking third in the tournament, finishing with a record of 2-1.

In the first game, the Chargers faced off against Porterville. The Chargers outscored their opponents through the first two quarters, 31-18. The Chargers would enter the third quarter with a cushioned lead, but Porterville would take the reins in the third and fourth quarter outscoring the Chargers. The Chargers would hold on to their first half efforts and win the game, 53-45. Sophomore forward, Hannah Avila-McArthur, led the Chargers with 20 points and 11 boards. Christa Evans added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

The Chargers took on tournament host, Merced College, in their second game. Merced jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter dropping 27 points on the Charger defense. Cypress bounced back in the second quarter, outscoring Merced by 6 points, but still found themselves down by 7. Merced continued to outscore the Chargers in the second half as Merced went on to win, 76-50. Switching roles this game, Evans led the Chargers with 17 points and 6 boards, while Avila-McArthur had 12 points and 4 rebounds.

In the third and final match up, the Chargers played Merritt College. Cypress jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter putting up 25 points. Domination continued for the Chargers in the second, third and fourth quarter outscoring Merritt for a final score of 71-41. Sarah Weber was at the top of the Charger leader board this game with 11 points and 4 rebounds, while Evans finished with 9 points and 3 boards.Freshman Pressila Blanco chipped in with 8 points and 3 rebounds for the Chargers.

The Chargers very own, Christa Evans, earned the honor of All-Tournament for the Merced College Tournament. Evans totaled 36 points for the tournament and started all three games.

The Chargers are set to return home on Wednesday, November 21 against El Camino College at 5:00 pm.

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