A strong second half surge helped the Cerritos College women's basketball team to a 66-46 win over host Los Angeles Southwest College in their South Coast Conference opener on Wednesday. The Falcons (8-7, 1-0), who struggled at times from the field, had a 24-rebound advantage (66-42) over the Cougars (2-9, 0-1). The team will now host El Camino College at 7:00 p.m. on Friday in another conference game.

Cerritos opened up a quick lead over LA Southwest, which included consecutive three-pointers from sophomore guards Tache' King (Gahr HS) and Jacalyn Saiza (Santa Fe HS) to put the team up, 23-10. It was a 13-point lead at intermission (32-19), with the Cougars getting as close as 48-40 with 7:56 remaining after a three-pointer from Christyana Scorza. But sophomore guard Priscilla Valdovinos (Fremont HS) responded with a trey to give the team a double-digit lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.

Sophomore forward Alii Salone (Gahr HS) led all scorers with 18 points, while the duo of sophomore forward Nia Lateju (Norwalk HS) and freshman center Selena Romero (Lakewood HS) both posted a double-double. Lateju finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds, with Romero adding 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Saiza contributed nine points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Valdovinos pulled down seven rebounds to go with her four points and five assists.