College of the Canyons Cougars women’s basketball was pushed to the limit for all 40 minutes in Saturday’s Western State Conference South game with No. 19 Glendale.
Both teams entered the game on win streaks and it showed, as neither team would lead by more than four throughout the contest. COC was able to score some clutch buckets to close out the game and win, 68-67.
Canyons (11-8, 5-1) was led by point guard Monique Febles, who racked up 20 points, which included a perfect trip to the free throw line with seconds left. Febles also registered game highs with seven assists and two steals.
“My goal this year is to just be there for my team and make plays happen,” Febles said. “See the open player, expand just on every aspect of the court, whether it be scoring, rebounds, assists. I just want to be there for my team and help us all get a win.”
Reigning WSCS MVP Lulu Salloom was also key in the victory for COC. Salloom knocked down three shots in crunch time to keep the Cougars ahead in the game. The MVP’s work on the block notched her yet another double-double, as she finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Glendale has several sharpshooters, including forward Faith Boulanger, giving the Vaqueros scoring options all over the court.
Boulanger led Glendale with 20 points and two blocks before fouling out in the final minute of play.
The Vaqueros ended the first quarter with a 12-10 lead, with all points coming from behind the arc. After giving up the game’s first score on a Boulanger 3-pointer, COC clamped down on defense and held Glendale scoreless on six straight possessions.
Both offenses started rolling a little better in the second, leading to a Vaquero 26-25 lead at the half. However, a scoring explosion in the third quarter would flip the tone of the previously defensive game.
Canyons guard Hannah Tolentino found her groove in the quarter and hit a few 3-pointers to fuel COC. Tolentino finished with 15 points.
No one did more damage behind the arc than Vaquero guard Megan Delgado, who shot 4-of-9 from 3.
“It was such a back-and-forth game,” said Canyons coach John Wissmath. “You didn’t know where it was going. We stayed the course, we stayed focused and that comes from our point guard. Monique has just been unbelievable.” COC matched its first-half offensive output in the third quarter alone, with 25 points.
The Cougars wanted to attack the basket to close out the game but Boulanger was there to swat a shot back with less than a minute left in the game. Salloom would go right back at the Glendale center on the next play, knowing Boulanger had four fouls. The MVP couldn’t have played it better and knocked down the and-one shot, as Boulanger fouled out of the game.
Delgado had a clean look at the basket for what could’ve been the game-tying 3, but the shot just rimmed out. Glendale would score on a putback as time expired but the Cougars were victorious.
“I think the most important part for me is outworking people,” Salloom said. “I tend to be a little bit outsized and out-heighted, but I never looked at it as a disadvantage. I just do my best to work hard and share the ball.”
The Cougars have now won five straight games while coincidentally snapped the Vaqueros’ six-game streak. The game marked the conclusion of the first round of WSC play as the two teams now share identical conference records.
“We’re a little short players compared to the other squads out here,” Febles said. “I feel like a lot of people underestimate us this year, and we just want to go out there and prove ourselves to everybody. So, it’s a huge win for us, and we’re all really pumped.”
It’s been an up-and-down year for Canyons but the team may finally be hitting its stride. The team already lacks the roster depth of most other programs on top of being hammered with injuries, but the Cougars keep finding ways to win.
“They showed up on the first day of school and I said, ‘Hey, this is your team.’ We’ve got like seven girls and it’s just been a lot of adversity with what these girls have gone through. We don’t get to scrimmage five on five. We just work drills, shots, work on boxing out, closing out and working on the game.”
Canyons will be off for a week before entering round two of WSC play, starting with a road matchup with L.A. Valley on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“I just think we gotta keep it up,” Salloom said. “The most important part to me is our energy and how much we give every day. If everybody wants to succeed, we will.”
