Cypress Holds on for Rivalry Win over Cerritos
Butler picked up a double-double Wednesday night. |
November 22nd, 2006
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Cypress, Calif. – Cypress and Cerritos faced off in their annual pre-Thanksgiving rivalry match-up Wednesday and the Chargers were able to squeeze out their second straight win over Cerritos. Last year Cypress was able to come from behind in the waning moments to win by three, and this year Cypress held on to their lead to win by three 77-74. Sophomore guard Brae Butler grabbed a double-double at the end of the night with a team high 22 points and 15 rebounds.
Cerritos took charge to start the game jumping to a five point lead after five minutes of play. The Chargers were not able to take the lead until a couple minutes later when sophomore point guard Corianne Felix made a layup to give Cypress the one point lead. From there, it was a back and forth battle with six lead changes until the there were eight minutes left in the half and Cypress took the lead for good with a layup by freshman forward Saw-Ann Bryan. Cypress pulled away from there taking as much as a ten point lead ending the half with a nine point lead 44-35.
Cypress kept their momentum going to start the second half getting out to as much as a twelve point lead with seven minutes left. Cerritos would not quit battling back with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to come within two to give Cypress a scare. The Chargers were able to hold on over the next few minutes thanks to a missed Cerritos three-pointer for the narrow win. Cypress was able to convert offensive rebounds into points outscoring Cerritos 22-9 on second chance points. Sophomore forward Brandi Thomas was the only other Charger in double digits with 15 points while grabbing 7 rebounds. While sophomore forward Michelle Babin was being eliminated from America’s Next Top Model on national television, she took it out on Cerritos by grabbing up 9 boards. Freshman forward Letisha Batiste was also a force on the boards picking up 7 rebounds in just 13 minutes.
Cypress has over a week break before hosting their annual Lady Charger Classic eight-team tournament. The Chargers start with L.A. Harbor in the first round. L.A. Harbor is 1-4 this season coming off of a 48-82 loss to L.A. Pierce. The tournament begins Friday and Cypress plays at 4:00 pm at Cypress.