QUARTET OF PLAYERS MOVE ON TO FOUR-YEAR SCHOOLS

Four members of the Cerritos College women's basketball team have made their choices as to where they will play the next two years. Guard/forward Andrina Rendon (St. Paul HS) and forward Dershawna Staves (Bellflower HS) will both be playing at Hope International University next year, while guard Armelia Patterson (Long Beach Millikan HS) has signed with Waldorf (IA) College and guard Talor Hixon (St. Anthony HS) has inked with Xavier University of Louisiana. This past season the Falcons posted a 23-8 record and finished in a tie for second place in the competitive South Coast Conference before ending their season one game away from advancing to the state tournament.

Rendon, who missed the playoffs with an injury and was named 2nd Team All-State and 1st Team All-South Coast Conference, led the team with a 14.7 scoring average and a 7.0 rebounding average on the year. She was also an outside shooting threat, as 53 of her 116 baskets on the year were from three-point range, while she also led the way by netting 83-of-102 free throws for an .814 percentage. Staves, another 1st Team All-SCC selection, contributed 7.2 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds a game. She also blocked 58 shots during the year and was a strong passer, dishing out 43 assist. The two will join a Hope International team that struggled last year with a 4-26 record, but with get a legitimate chance of playing, as the Royals will lose five players to graduation.

Patterson, a 2nd Team All-SCC pick, was second on the team with 42 three-pointers and tied for third on the team with an 8.0 scoring average. She also averaged 5.1 rebounds and dished out 52 assists. As for Hixon, she also earned 2nd Team All-SCC recognition and averaged 6.1 points, while recording a team-high 72 steals on the season. Hixon also averaged 4.4 rebounds and was second on the team with 76 assists. Patterson will look to add outside scoring offense for the Warriors, who posted a 7-22 record and will need to replace three guards who have graduated. Three of their returning guards accounted for 114 of their 140 three-pointers on the year and Patterson will help them be more of an outside scoring threat. Hixon will be added to a team that advanced to the NAIA Division I National Championship Tournament, where they dropped a 58-43 game to Union (TN) College in the second round. The Gold Rush finished the season with a 23-8 record and won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. They lose three guards to graduation, with Hixon looking to earn a starting role.