For the second time in as many games College of the Canyons sophomore Vivianna Alvarado scored in the final seconds to secure a conference victory for the women’s basketball team, this time pushing the Cougars past Santa Monica College 54-52 on Saturday night, Jan. 24.

Alvarado finished with 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, but it was her key layup with two seconds left on the clock that proved the difference maker for a Canyons (7-13, 2-4) team that has now won back-to-back conference contests. The sophomore also hit a three-pointer and converted a late foul shot to secure a win over West L.A. College earlier in the week.

With seven points in the final frame, Alvarado was able to help the Cougars erase a six-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter. COC had built a 24-11 lead in the early going, and appeared to be in control, but combined to score just 15 points across the next two quarters.

Santa Monica (2-14, 0-6) managed to outshoot the Cougars with a mark of 33.3 percent from the field but got to the foul line for just six attempts and were severely outrebounded by a 54-38 margin.

Canyons freshman Kathy Artiga finished with 11 rebounds and a game-high 20 points. Artiga was 4-of-7 from long range and 7-of-16 from the floor.

Elsewhere, Gabriella Valles ended the night with nine boards, eight points, four assists and two blocks. Katherine Franco added nine points and two assists. Nicole Assadourian connected on a pair of three-pointers to finish with six points, four rebounds and two assists for the Cougars.

Canyons next heads to Bakersfield College at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, to conclude the opening round of Western State Conference, South Division play.

The Cougars return home Saturday, Jan. 31, to host Antelope Valley College at5 p.m. That contest will be broadcast to fans free of charge via YouTube on the Cougars Sports Network.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by visiting COCAthletics.com and on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.