Comets rebound from loss, score plenty

East County Sports staff report

CYPRESS (12-1-2018) – It was a night for some rather one-sided games for San Diego County community college women’s basketball teams, with every game decided by at least 30 points with the local team falling on the wrong side of the score.

There were two exceptions.

Palomar College took its opening-round game at the Cypress College Invitational by a huge margin. Meanwhile, PCAC rival Imperial Valley was involved in a close contest, getting nipped by Santa Barbara City College by a basket.

Palomar 96, Compton 27: In one of California’s biggest blowouts of the season, the Comets never allowed more than 10 points in any quarter to squish the Tartars at the Cypress College Invitational.

The reserves of Palomar (8-1) were allowed to roam wild, as Erica Weitzel pretzeled her way to a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Julie Saelee added 12 points.

Winless Compton (0-5) recorded 37 turnovers.

Merced 90, San Diego Mesa 56: At the Santa Ana College Tournament, the Blue Devils (6-2) utilized a 31-7 scoring margin in the second period to whip the Olympians (3-4).

Center Malaya Kendricks powered Merced with 23 points and 10 rebounds, helping to mount a 53-24 lead at the intermission. The Blue Devils also held the bench scoring advantage, 34-0.

For Mesa, center Yusra Gharram garnered a unique triple-double. Not only did she garner game-highs of 31 points and 15 rebounds, but she also blocked 10 shots. However, her teammates collected just a composite 25 points in the setback.

Cypress 86, Grossmont 47: The tournament host Chargers had a choice of seven opponents for their first-round pairing. They selected the Griffins (1-5), who fell by 39 points for their second-largest setback of the season.

Drew Mendoza fueled the Grossmont offense with club-highs of 21 points and 4 assists. Chiara Mattern added 10 points and 6 rebounds at historic Don Johnson Court.

Allan Hancock 68, San Diego City 35: The Knights lost in Cuesta College’s Phillips 66 Tournament in San Luis Obispo.

Santa Barbara 51, Imperial Valley 49: Santa Barbara won the Victor Valley College Crossover Tournament contest in Victorville.

Southwestern at Chaffey: The Jaguars (1-3), fresh off their first victory of the season, played the host Panthers at their own Chaffey College Tournament in Rancho Cucamonga