Short-Handed Women's Basketball Guts Through MiraCosta Tourney

Injuries continued to plague the Pasadena City College women's basketball team as it was down to just six available players for nearly the entire MiraCosta Holiday Classic Dec. 17-19. The Lancers did their best with a win over Cuyamaca and two huge rallies in two defeats v. state #6-ranked MiraCosta and San Diego City.

The Lancers (8-7 overall) opened with a 62-53 victory over Cuyamaca as sophomore guard/forward Celine Bolton-Ford put on a clinic with 28 points, 25 rebounds and four steals. Bolton-Ford became just the sixth player in PCC history to reach the 25-rebound plateau, last achieved by Tena Ikidi on Jan. 6, 2023 v. Cerritos. She was 9-for-17 from the field and made 10-of-17 from the free throw line with a near-even distribution on the boards, 12 offensive, 13 on the defensive end.

Ava Chang had her best game of the season as she added 14 points, including three 3-point baskets, to go with five assists and five rebounds. Kamora Fletcher contributed 10 points. 

In a 68-53 loss to the host Spartans, PCC trailed by as much as 41-12 by halftime and 53-22 in the third quarter as MiraCosta made 13 shots from beyond the 3-point arc overall. However, the Lancers dominated the final 13 minutes of the contest and outscored the state's last undefeated team (15-0), 31-15, to end the contest. 

Fletcher was outstanding as she poured in 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, made six steals and blocked three shots. Bolton-Ford added 15 points, 13 boards, three blocks and three assists while Kimberly Dominguez was strong defensively on two points and eight rebounds. Czarina Powell was MC's top player from long distance, making four treys.

In the finale, an exhausted Lancers six played a team they had beaten by 39 points just six days earlier in San Diego City. It was the Knights who came flying out of the gate as they grabbed a 34-14 lead only to see PCC battle back, eventually cutting the large deficit to just three at 50-47 on a Monica Menzies' layup early in the fourth quarter. 

At that point, SDCC scored the next seven points capped on a Dahlia Blake jumper. PCC ran out of gas as the Knights closed out their win. Menzies, who has played all but two minutes in the last six PCC games, led the squad in scoring with 17 points. Bolton-Ford had another big performance in the post with 14 points and 21 rebounds while Fletcher chipped in 14 points, 13 rebounds, three helpers and three blocks. 

Kennedy Jackson, who only sat three minutes in three games, added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists while Chang dished out five assists. 

The Lancers have been without All-South Coast Conference guard Lyndsey Valverde and top defensive forward Paris Ngeam, both due to injuries. Ngeam was injured in the Cuyamaca loss. Gemani Abrams is also on the injured list and has not played since Dec. 6.

MENZIES CLIMBING THE LANCERS ALL-TIME SCORING LIST

The returning All-SCC guard Menzies became the 38th player in program history to reach the 500-point mark earlier this season and now is at 640, now 29th on the list. She is the 30th player to reach 600 points and next up on the list to catch is Stella Ghazarian (2011-13) with 650 in her PCC career. 

PCC participates in the Ventura Crossover on Dec. 26-27. The Lancers face Oxnard in a 4 p.m. game on Friday, then take on the host Pirates on Saturday in a 3 p.m. tip-off.

Monica Menzies