By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

Freshman guard Monique Febles poured in a season-high 23 points as No. 6 College of the Canyons was able to outlast Antelope Valley College 68-62 at the Cougar Cage in the 2021-22 home opener.

Canyons was playing on its home floor for the first time Feb. 19, 2020 — COC’s home finale of the 2019-20 season — some 697 days ago. The Cougars did not compete in 2020-21 due to cancellations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

COC limited AVC (7-9, 0-2) to just seven points in the opening quarter, eventually taking a 34-21 lead into halftime.

Febles started the game hot with 12 points in the first half. Same for Justice Walters who netted 11 of her 13 points in the first two quarters.

Canyons shot 50 percent as a team in the first quarter but was 22-of-63 for a 34.9 percentage for the contest. That included an 18 percent mark from behind the arc, with Walters the only Cougar able to convert from downtown.

Febles’ scoring performance came on an 8-of-17 shooting night. She was also 7-of-11 from the foul line, adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals to her totals. The freshman has now reached double-digit point totals in 12 of 16 games.

The Cougars received another dominating performance from freshman LuLu Salloom who pulled down 17 rebounds, including seven off the offensive glass, and scored 17 points. She also came away with three steals in the game.

Salloom is currently fourth in the state with 14 rebounds per game. She is also averaging 16.6 points per game to lead COC and rank fourth in the conference.

Febles and Salloom combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter to help stay ahead of an AVC team that received big games from Bailey Cassell (19 points) and Jadis Watson (16 points).

Canyons also forced Antelope Valley into committing six turnovers in the fourth quarter and converted on 11-of-13 foul shots in the final frame.

The Cougars were 22-of-28 from the foul line in the game compared to a 6-of-11 mark for the Marauders.

COC head coach Greg Herrick and the Cougars have shown a knack for winning tight games in recent weeks. The team’s last four games have been decided by a combined 23 points, including victory margins of six, nine and four points. Canyons is 3-1 during that span including a 65-61 road loss at L.A. Valley to begin conference play.

The Cougars have now won six games by six points or less this season.

With Monday’s victory Canyons (12-4, 2-1) moved into second place in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division standings with its second conference win. COC now sits one game behind Bakersfield College (14-2, 3-0).

Canyons began the month as the No. 6 ranked team in the state according to the CCCWBCA poll released on Jan. 3. COC was also the No. 5 team in the Southern California region. The Cougars have posted a 2-1 record since the poll’s release.

The Cougars are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 19 for a 7 p.m. contest at Citrus College.

COC is then scheduled to return to the Cougar Cage on Saturday, Jan. 22 for a conference contest vs. West L.A. College. That game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip off.

All Canyons home games will be live streamed to fans on YouTube via the Cougars Sports Network. Continue to monitor COCathletics.com for livestream links or subscribe to the COC Athletics channel on YouTube.

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.