For the first half of their game against Riverside, the Cerritos College women’s basketball team appeared to break out of its slump. Holding a 45-29 lead after the first 20 minutes was very promising for a team that had dropped their last three games after winning their first seven.

But, in the second half, things changed again, and the Falcons suffered an 81-69 loss to the Tigers. Riverside shot 53% from the field in the second stanza and converted 17-of-22 free throws, while the Falcons connected on just 8-of-22 shots (36%) and finished the game with 27 turnovers.

This week, Cerritos (7-4) will travel to Los Angeles City for a 6:00 pm game on Wednesday before they open the Orange Coast Tournament on Friday.

In the first round, the Falcons will face a very good Saddleback team on Friday at 3:30 pm With a win, Cerritos will play the winner of the San Diego Mesa-El Camino game on Saturday at 5:30 pm, while a loss will see them face the loser of the same game at 1:30 pm.

One of the turning points in the loss to Riverside was the team’s inability to handle defensive pressure, which caused numerous turnovers. The team also missed six lay-ups in the game, and were out-rebounded 17-9 on the offensive boards.

Freshman forward LaVonne Amete led the team with 15 points and seven rebounds, while she also added four assists. Sophomore forward Tiffany Amete converted 8-of-11 field goals to score a team-high 16 points, with 14 of them coming in the first half.

Freshman forward Shannah Aiono drained all four of her three-pointers and concluded with 14 points on the night. Sophomore point guard Marci Wong chipped in with eight points, six assists and four rebounds in the loss.

This week, Cerritos (7-4) will travel to Los Angeles City for a 6:00 pm game on Wednesday before they open the Orange Coast Tournament on Friday.