South Coast Conference Women's Basketball Top Heavy Again In North
The South Coast Conference divide between the North Division and the South Division in women's basketball has never been wider than what is happening in the 2019-2020 season. Led by #4 Mt. San Antonio, the North boasts four teams in the South Region's Top 10 in current RPI and it's fifth team--Rio Hondo--is #15. The South Division's best team is at #17 in Long Beach City and not another until the #26 spot in El Camino.
This makes the SCC South Division race all about trying to win the conference title for what could be one golden ticket from that 6-team league to make the postseason. Meanwhile, the North could just as easily have a perfect 5-for-5 in advancing to the 2020 regional playoffs regardless of who wins that division's conference crown.
Don't be fooled by Mt. SAC's 7-4 record as the Mounties, winners of their Mt. SAC Tip-Off Classic, have two losses v. South #1 Ventura (by a combined nine points margin), #2 Palomar and #3 Moorpark, last season's state finalist. Among Mt. SAC's wins are a 46-44 triumph over North #1 San Joaquin Delta thanks to a last-minute jumper by Taylor Shelby.
At #5, Pasadena City (10-1 record) has perhaps its strongest team in nine years, including winning the Santa Ana Tournament title and going 3-0 at the LA Harbor Round Robin Tournament. PCC scored a 21-point win over defending CCCAA state champion Diablo Valley (currently North #4) in that tourney and defeated North #2 Merced, 60-59, with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in overtime by Merina Latu in the SAC championship game. The Lancers only loss is v. #13 Irvine Valley, an 11-1 team thus far.
At South #7 is East Los Angeles (7-4), but the Huskies losses all v. premier squads in Palomar (twice), Ventura and Irvine Valley. At #9 is LA Trade Tech (11-4), champions of the Cosumnes River Classic. The Beavers have losses v. Palomar, Moorpark, North #7 City College of San Francisco and South #6 LA Valley. They have wins v. North #6 Chabot and North #9 College of the Sequoias. Rio Hondo (11-4) really shows just how strong the North is compared to the South as the Roadrunners have victories over Long Beach, El Camino (74-55) and Cerritos (76-30). RHC has losses v. Moorpark, Irvine Valley, North #3 Fresno City, and was beaten in a close 66-62 encounter v. Mt. SAC in the title game of the Mounties' Tip-Off Classic.
LBCC (5-5) has been very competitive in its defeats that include 8-point losses to Rio Hondo, Mt. SAC, and South #12 Cypress (85-77 in overtime). The Vikings lost by five to CCSF and by seven to Sequoias. Both El Camino (3-7) and Cerritos (5-6) have had rough starts while Compton (8-6) and LA Harbor (6-6) have been competitive but with mostly wins v. relative competition v. the South's lower 20. The Seahawks opened the season at 5-0, including winning the San Diego City Knights Invitational, but are 1-6 in their last seven contests.
Individually, Long Beach's Donavion Huskey is No. 5 in the state in scoring at 21.4 points per game and leads California players in rebounding at 18.4 boards per contest. In fact, five of the top six rebounders in the state all come from the SCC in #2 Niea Ulmer of Compton (15.4 average), #3 Dariel Johnson, a returning All-State performer from Pasadena (14.9), Long Beach's Ivori Scott at #5 (14.7) and LA Harbor's Brion Turner at #6 (13.6). Scott is #2 in the state in blocked shots average (3.7) and Johnson #3 (3.6).
El Camino's Ashley Nguyen is #8 in the state in assists average (5.5), followed by Trade Tech's Janaiah Perkins-Jackson at #9 (5.5) and PCC's Cosette Balmy #11 (5.4). Compton's Andranae Powns (4.7) is state #2 in steals followed by Huskey at #3 (4.6), Cerritos' Precious Yerena at #4 (4.4), Balmy at #7 (4.2), and Rio Hondo's Amanda Lee at #10 (3.8).