By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

After an up-and-down month of December in which College of the Canyons knocked off two of the state’s top-ranked teams but finished with a losing record, the Lady Cougars are set to begin Western State Conference (WSC) play on Wednesday.

Canyons (5-8) has played to a 4-6 record over its last 10 contests, but claimed quality wins by defeating then No. 7 ranked Pasadena City College (11-3) and No. 1 Ventura College on back-to-back nights Dec. 20 and 21.

COC added a third straight win the following weekend by downing Orange Coast College with a convincing 73-38 final score during the opening round of the 8th Annual Husky Classic hosted by East Los Angeles College.

The Lady Cougars then suffered a heartbreaking 73-72 overtime loss to No. 13 ranked East L.A. the following evening in the tourney’s second round before falling to conference rival West L.A. to close out 2019.

COC sophomore forward Christian Patron has enjoyed a strong first half of the season. She currently ranks third in the WSC and 20th in the state with 18.5 points per game and sports a 51 percent field goal percentage, good for the conference’s No. 5 slot. She is also sixth in the WSC with 9.8 rebounds each night out.

Sophomore McKenzie Stoehr and freshman Diamyn Davis have also provided a scoring punch for the Cougars. Stoehr is averaging 15.9 points per game which ranks 12th in the WSC, while Davis has emerged with a stat line of 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Davis is also shooting 34 percent from three-point territory. Sophomore Crystal Amato is third in the WSC with 5.4 assists per game despite missing three games in December.

Canyons will embark on its 14-game WSC, South Division schedule with a 5 p.m. game vs. host Antelope Valley College (5-9) on Wednesday.

COC then plays its first true home game of the season vs. Santa Monica College (6-8) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Cougar Cage.

The Lady Cougars previously played a lone home game on Dec. 20 at The Master’s University MacArthur Center due to ongoing gymnasium renovations at COC.

Heading into conference play No. 6 ranked Glendale College (13-1) is the only team with a winning record.

COC head coach Greg Herrick, currently in his 28th season at the helm of the program, is just six victories away from the 600-win milestone. Herrick is currently 594-285 in his time with the Lady Cougars.

Canyons will also be shooting for a third straight postseason appearance, with the Lady Cougars having qualified for postseason play in 23 of the previous 27 seasons under Herrick, winning 16 conference titles in the process.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.