GCC Women's Basketball beats East L.A. 63-58 in So. Cal Regional Playoffs; Hosts Palomar March 7
With a raucous crowd on its feet for every play and every point scored, the GCC faithful eventually got what they came for as the Lady Vaqs held on to beat a talented Huskies squad 63-58 Saturday in the Verdugo Gym to advance to a third round playoff game Saturday March 7 against Palomar College.
Glendale, now 27-2 on the season, got out to their typically fast start, outscoring the visitors from the South Coast Conference but the Huskies battled back to lead 28-25 before trailing 34-28 at the half. East L.A. led 45-44 at the end of the third quarter but Glendale showed its grit and tenacity as both teams swapped leads in the fourth quarter before GCC took the lead for good at 55-53 with 2:30 left in the game.
Those last 2 ½ minutes had the fans on their feet with players diving on the floor for every loose ball and battling for every rebound before two free throws by Tess Oakley-Stilson with 2.5 seconds left iced the game, believed to be the first home playoff game in school history. Oakley-Stilson led all scorers with 26 points with Zoe Rouse adding 14 including four three pointers and Penelopi Trieu added 12. Vicky Oganyan had a game high nine rebounds and three steals.