Sophomore Shakeena Benton and freshman Abbey Goodsell both scored 11 points each to help lead the No. 6 state-ranked Long Beach City College women's basketball team to a 78-53 non-conference win at Santa Ana College on Tuesday.
With the win, Long Beach improved to 2-0 early in the season.
The game started close before Long Beach used a pair of big runs to blow the game open. With the score tied 8-8, Long Beach took the lead after a three-pointer by sophomore Regina Romain. That bucket started an 11-3 run for the Vikings that put them up for good. Romain nailed another three-pointer at the 10:05 mark before sophomore Symphony Logan's jumper gave LBCC a 22-11 lead with 8:48 left in the first.
The Vikings were up 30-19 at halftime and opened the second half with a 17-2 run. A three-pointer by Goodsell gave LBCC its biggest lead of 32 points (67-35) with 8:17 left in the second.
Freshman Darshana Taafua also nearly had a double-double for LBCC with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Crystal Cockerhan had a productive night with eight points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and three steals. Romain was three-for-three on three-point shots to contribute nine points off the bench for the Vikings.
Long Beach dominated the inside, outrebounding Santa Ana by a 46-32 margin while the Vikings had 30 points in the paint to the Dons' 14.
Ashley Whisler scored a game-high 20 points to lead Santa Ana (2-1).
LONG BEACH 74, CHAFFEY 65
On Saturday, Long Beach opened the season with a 74-65 win at Chaffey College. The Vikings were still able to pull out the victory despite turning the ball over 33 times and shooting just 17 of 30 from the free throw line.
The Vikings closed the first half with a 7-0 run to go ahead 38-30 and opened the second with a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 48-30.
Chaffey got as close as 71-65 late, but sophomore Jasmine Williams and Logan sank free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Goodsell was impressive in her debut for the Vikings with a game-high 25 points. She nailed five three-pointers and grabbed four rebounds. Benton scored 17 points while Cockerhan posted 12 rebound and three blocks.
Long Beach returns to action on Thursday (Nov 14) at 2 p.m. when it will face Citrus College to kick off the three-day Pasadena City College Rose City Classic tournament.
