Cougars Open Season 59-52 at San Bernardino Valley in Hester's Debut

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

SAN BERNARDINO — College of the Canyons opened its season with a hard-fought 59-52 road win at San Bernardino Valley College on Friday in its first game under first-year head coach Robin Hester. Mia Ceja scored 22 points in her Cougars debut while Jenny Sanchez and Alissa Saridin each produced double-doubles in the victory.

Canyons (1-0) trailed 15-11 late in the first quarter when Ceja made a long jumper for two, and was fouled after the shot, making the first of two free throws. After an offensive rebound, Ceja was fouled again making two more charity shots for the five-point possession and a 16-15 lead. The Wolverines scored the final three points of the quarter, however, and COC trailed 18-16 after 10 minutes of play.

The second quarter was messy on both ends of the floor. COC missed their first 11 shots of the period before Sanchez dropped a dime to Ceja for a lay-up at the 4:24 mark to close the Cougars to within 20-18. The Wolverines netted buckets on consecutive possessions to stretch their lead to six, 24-18 leading to a COC timeout with 1:48 on the clock. When play resumed, Saridin hit a free throw, Jazmin Bolanos scored a lay-up and Ceja made on of two foul shots and COC trailed 24-22 at intermission. 

The Cougars came out strong in the third stanza with Ceja connecting for two foul shots and Kiana Postchy hitting from downtown to give the Cougars a 27-26 lead at the 7:59 mark. Saridin answered a Wolverines score with a deuce, then scored on back-to-back possessions to push the Cougars' advantage to 33-29. After SBVC tied the game, Ceja sandwiched a pair of threes around a bucket by Sanchez, and Postchy cashed in a dime from Alexis Ruelas for a 43-39 edge headed to the final quarter.

Ruelas scored a jumper and Ceja hit for another three early in the fourth, and Saridin's lay-up extended the COC margin to 50-43. The Wolverines did close the gap to 56-52 but could get no closer as the Cougars got the win 59-52. 

Ceja ended the night with a game-high 22 points, including eight in the Cougars' third quarter outburst. 

Sanchez was also a key component down the stretch, scoring eight in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 16 points on an 8-of-14 shooting night. She also pulled down 13 rebounds, with five off the offensive glass, alongside five assists and a pair of steals. Saridin's double-double came in the form of 10 points and a game-high 15 boards, while Potschy finished with six points and seven rebounds. 

Ruelas, the lone sophomore on the squad, helped push the offense to the tune of seven assists, adding three points, three steals and four rebounds along the way.  

San Bernardino was led by Domineek Butler's 12 points and six rebounds, with nine points apiece coming from Marilyn Jacques and Mo'nikque Lightfoot. 

The Wolverines shot just under 31 percent from the floored compared to a mark of roughly 36 percent for Canyons. Both sides struggled from long range with COC finishing at 18.3 percent, slightly behind the home team's mark of 21.1 percent. Canyons, however, found the edge in rebounding, 49-41, a total that included 18 on the offensive end.  

COC is back in action at the three-day "We Are MC" Moorpark College Tournament Nov. 7-9, with an opening round matchup vs. San Jose City College. That contest is slated for 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. 

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.  

—Robert Hanashiro/COC Sports Information