Griffins fall to LATT in tourney finale
- Updated: December 22, 2021
Lilian Akintonde, of Grossmont, puts up a shot against Citrus. / P.J. Panebianco
2021-22 COMMUNITY COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
ECS staff report
EL CAJON —- The rising Grossmont College women’s basketball team moved into position to capture their own tournament, which held its 34th annual edition over the weekend. But in order to do so, they would need to upset a state-ranked opponent.
However, the Griffins fell short.
Los Angeles Trade-Tech, which has captured a pair of state championships in its resounding history, came off a difficult second-round contest to drop Grossmont in Monday’s (Dec. 20) tournament finale
The round-robin event could’ve forged a multiple-team tie for first place if the Griffins pulled the upset. Still, Grossmont head coach Karen Caires was pleased with the effort.
“We appreciate, so much, the teams that made their way to our tournament this year– we know the financial efforts this year coming out of Covid are more fierce than ever,” Caires noted. “We are thankful to host the tournament and hope to get it back to its original post Christmas time frame (Dec. 28-30) next season.”
The Lady Techsters started a new winning streak following last week’s upset loss to sweep their trio of tournament ballgames. capping the event was a 31-point effort by both forward Ja-Naiah Perkins Jackson and former Lynwood High standout guard Janae Turner to topple the G-House, 84-41.
For Perkins, she tallied 23 of her points in the first quarter to set at LATT school record.
Grossmont moved into position for the first-place trophy by downing Cuesta College of San Luis Obispo, 60-38.
The Griffins return to action on Wed., Dec. 29, playing Riverside in a 5 p.m. contest at the Palomar College Dome in San Marcos. Grossmont then hosts Palomar to open Pacific Coast Athletic Conference action on Wed., Jan. 5, starting at 6 o.m.
Meanwhile, winless Cuyamaca (0-10) also opened PCAC play on Jab. 5, entertaining San Diego Mesa in another 6 p.m. start
