By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information  

College of the Canyons fell in a 51-41 road contest at Cypress College, dropping to an even .500 in the team’s final non-conference game of the schedule.

The Lady Cougars (7-7) kept the Chargers at bay for a majority of the game, holding the lead until about eight minutes to go in the third quarter. That’s when Chargers’ freshman Dorothy Schwenck landed a three-point jump shot to take the lead at 27-26.

Cypress never relinquished the lead in a game that saw Canyons shoot just over 24 percent for the game while not connecting on any three-point attempts.

The Chargers meanwhile were 5-of-19 from behind the three-point line while shooting just under 24 percent for the game.

COC freshman Aaliyah Garcia led with 11 points, three assists, two steals and four rebounds.

Jade Sims and Vanessa Zavala each put up nine points of their own. Sims also had three rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block while Zavala worked for eight rebounds and three blocks.

From the bench, sophomore Amiya Robinson aided the Cougars with nine rebounds, including four offensive, while producing five points, one assist and a steal.

Though each Cougar managed to find the basket, it wasn’t enough to maintain any leads.

Canyons next begins Western State Conference (WSC), South Division play on the road vs. the L.A. Valley College on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

COC returns to Lee Smelser Court at the Cougar Cage on Saturday, Jan. 13 to take on Bakersfield College at 5 p.m.